Groundbreaking ceremony for new Goodwood Main Library | Business

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Goodwood Main Library will be held behind the site of the current Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Boulevard, on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. 

Speakers will include Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden, Councilmember Alison Gary (District 11), members of the Library Board of Control and Library Director David Farrar. A reception, sponsored by the Patrons of the Public Library, will follow.

The new Main Library will total 126,000 square feet and was designed by the Library Design Collaborative. The general contractor is Milton J. Womack, Inc.

The library will house books, AV materials and periodicals for all ages; dedicated activity spaces for children, teens and adults; public computers, laptops and online public library catalogs; free Wi-Fi; a Computer Training Lab; four AWE Early Literacy Workstations for young children; combined Genealogy and Baton Rouge Room collections; the Career Center; a drive-thru window for book drop off and pickup, self-checkout machines as well as full service checkout; public meeting rooms; a privately-donated stained glass installation and much more!

The new Main Library is located on land in Independence Park, almost directly behind its current location. The building is designed to allow seamless integration with Independence Park, and will have a shared plaza with BREC. The new facility should achieve Silver LEED certification A rooftop terrace will be accessible to the public.

The contract records the cost of construction as $35,410,074; the City-Parish is the owner; the Library is the user. The Department of Public Works staff will work with the Architect and the General Contractor to oversee the project. Funds for this Pay-As-You-Go project were amassed by the East Baton Rouge Parish Library over time, as part of its 10-year Dedicated Property Tax.   

For more information, call (225) 231-3710.