Glen Head library preps for summer construction start date on new $11.3M building

The Gold Coast Library, born of Glen Head Girl Scouts’ desire to create a place to meet up, study and check out books in their community, is all grown up and getting ready to break ground on a new $11.3 million facility.

Construction is expected to begin in the summer, with the doors to the new 10,991-square-foot library on Glen Head Road opening in early 2023.

Library director Michael Morea said the larger space — more than double the size of their 4,400-square-foot building on Railroad Avenue — will give it room to change with the times as libraries have expanded beyond bookshelves and reading rooms.

"It will always evolve, but having the space allows us to evolve with what people need," Morea said.

Gold Coast Library District voters approved the plan — 698-274 — to borrow $10.8 million for the new building in a Dec. 8, 2020, bond referendum. District taxes will go up from about $100 per $500,000 of assessed fair-market value to $160, according to the library’s website.

"I’m happy to pay those taxes rather than pay some other taxes," said Steven Warshaw, president of the Gold Coast Business Association. "At least I know what I’m getting. I can reach out and touch the library."

The new location will bring the library closer to a strip of Glen Head businesses that would help bring patrons and customers to each other, he said.

"Any time something like that grows in the area it always makes it better for businesses as well, and property values," Warshaw said. "It enhances everybody’s life. It’s a place to do research. It’s a place to sit and relax."

Voters approved the creation of the library district in 2001 following a campaign led by members of Girl Scout Troop 61. The library opened its doors on Railroad Avenue across from the Long Island Rail Road station in a renovated two-story building in 2005.

Morea said the library quickly outgrew its home and has been renting additional space for programs and storage for about $100,000 annually.

The new building will have several rooms that can be used for library programming, events, training, art shows and be reserved by outside groups. A community room will seat 100 people and can be divided to hold separate events in the room at the same time, and patrons will be able to turn pages in fresh air in an outdoor reading garden. It will also have dedicated parking.

Pansy Cheng, the lead architect on the project from Melville-based H2M architects + engineers, wrote in an email that the building is designed to maximize natural sunlight and with minimal interior load-bearing walls to allow for flexibility and future expansion.

The new building’s design reflects the changing role of libraries as community centers that offer services and activities that range from computer training to knitting groups.

"We have been trying more and more to find ways to have outside groups meet at the library," Morea said. "The flexibility of the building will allow us to make sure that we’re getting everybody involved."