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Library Unveils Design for $4.9M Canfield Branch
CANFIELD, Ohio -- The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County unveiled the design and floor plan for the new Canfield Library last night in the auditorium of the Ursuline Center as the library's executive director, Heidi M. Daniel, and architect Ronald Cornell Faniro, of Faniro Architects Inc., of Youngstown, presented the plans to those in attendance.
The new library branch will be built on the same site as the current Canfield Library, 43 W. Main St. The existing building will be demolished.
The new Canfield Library will be 18,135 square feet. This compares to the 5,104 square feet contained in the existing branch, which was built in 1969. Cost of the building project, including construction, furnishings, landscaping, site work, and more, is estimated at $4.9 million. If all goes according to schedule, the library expects to break ground on this project in late summer or early fall this year, Daniel said.
The project has been in the works for over a decade, she said, and the Library Board of Trustees has been saving money for this new branch. The library operates debt-free and pays for projects without bond issues or loans, which are costly.
The library will conduct a capital campaign with a fundraising goal of $500,000, Daniel said.
In displaying architechural renderings at the meeting, Daniel said, "We are very excited about this design and feel it will blend in well with the community and the library's surroundings. We asked for the community's thoughts in many community conversations over the last several years and are pleased that we were able to say 'yes' to much of the input we received.
"The community was interested in having a place to gather and in the library branch being connected to the community," she explained. "To that end, this new design includes a multi-purpose meeting room, a community living room area, and an adult area small meeting room," she noted, "as well as a site plan that should assist with supporting activities and businesses near the community green."
Faniro was thoughtful and deliberate in creating the design, with the look and feel of the community always in mind, Daniel said.
"I drove around neighborhoods to acquaint myself with the community and made observations to inspire the design," Faniro elaborated. "We went to great lengths to present a face on Main Street that would blend in with the current scale of the existing streetscape, and to create a building with character and with spaces that could be used in different ways for both the ibrary and the community."
During last night's meeting, members of the audience asked questions, offered some suggestions, and applauded the architect, who noted he would give the suggestions thoughtful consideration.
Faniro reminded the audience that the colors used in these renderings are subject to change and were added to the drawings to accentuate the architecture.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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