Library...
A few years back, I was part of a local library foundation whose goal was to fundraise the money necessary to allow our library to buy out another building to move into greatly expanding their available square footage.
Things fell through at the location they were targetting. Considering they no longer had a location to vye for (identifiable goal) and I had a baby taking up a lot of my time, I quit the foundation.
The other night, though, Katie found this interesting article about how a closed-down Walmart in McAllen, TX, had been repurposed as a public library.
How freakin' awesome is that? They did such a beautiful job with the place, too!
Last year, Safeway, the grocery conglomerate, closed down all Chicago-area Dominick's grocery stores. This happened right at Christmas time leaving thousands of employees and their families in a major lurch. It also left large shells of stores empty throughout the area.
Thankfully a lot of them were either immediately occupied by Mariano's Fresh Market or have slowly made the transition over the past year.
But not all of them.
The one down the street from where Katie and I live remains empty. And how perfect would it be as a library? It was a grocery store in the middle of a big shopping and residential area. It has plenty of parking. A landlord who I'm sure would work on a deal just to get the place occupied. And with the facilities inside, they could even open a cafe for readers.
THIS MUST HAPPEN NOW!
Time for me to talk to the Library Board.
It would be SO SO great if old buildings that were previously owned by large corporations were reused for a better purpose like a public library. Hope it happens near you!
Posted by: Marie | Sunday, 09 November 2014 at 08:11 PM
Talked to a Board member I know and they said not likely. The library wants to stay as close to downtown as possible.
Posted by: kapgar | Sunday, 09 November 2014 at 09:20 PM
The one in Texas turned out so cool! Too bad the board member thinks it won't happen for your location :(
Posted by: kilax | Monday, 10 November 2014 at 10:20 AM
I was pretty bummed about that.
Posted by: kapgar | Monday, 10 November 2014 at 10:35 AM
That would be a great repurpose for the former grocery store. We need more libraries, even with the advent of digital.
Too bad the board member doesn't think it's a likely solution. Perhaps the downtown library needs to rethink their library location position.
Posted by: Marty Mankins | Monday, 01 December 2014 at 04:16 PM
That's what I said.
Posted by: kapgar | Monday, 01 December 2014 at 04:45 PM