Community Corner
New Fanwood Library Breaks Ground: See Projected Opening Date
A new Fanwood library, which has been in the works for over a decade, finally broke ground this week. When is it set to open?
FANWOOD, NJ - A new library in Scotch Plains finally broke ground this week for a new Fanwood Memorial Library after spending over a decade in the works.
Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr, alongside New Jersey State Librarian Jennifer Nelson, Fanwood Council president Jeff Banks, council members Anthony Carter and Gina Berry, library director Dan Weiss, library trustee president Ann Minski and Friends of the Library president Carol Campbell, broke ground for the nearly $8.2 million project at the North Avenue and Tillotson Road site on Monday, the township said in a news release.
“We have spent a lot of time and energy focusing on the transformation of our downtown and now it’s time to focus our resources on our public buildings,” Mahr said in a statement. “This is the first, brand new public building in close to 50 years. Today we acknowledge that our library plays a critical role in promoting education and knowledge and will serve as an important community hub benefiting everyone.”
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The new library will replace one that stood at the same spot for over 70 years and “suffered from significant infrastructure issues” and wasn’t ADA-complaint, the borough said. It was demolished in January. Read more: Fanwood Library Demolished To Make Way For New Facility
Funding for the project is partially supported by a grant from the NJ Library Construction Bond Act, in which Fanwood was awarded $3.5 million “through a competitive application process.” The borough will be funding the remaining costs.
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M&M Construction of Cranford and Epic Management of Piscataway have been tapped as the general contractor and construction manager of the project, respectively.
The current construction schedule has the library slated for competition by Spring 2024. The library at the historic Fanwood train station will remain open until then.
The train station library is open six days a week. You can find more information at fanwoodlibrary.org.
You can view a video of the ground breaking here.
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