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March 20, 2004
NEW LIBRARY & OFFICE COMPLEX OPENS BEHIND CITY HALL
Mayor
James Kennedy today joined Congressman Donald Payne, members of
the Library Board of Trustees and other guests to open the
city’s new $15 million library / office complex behind city
hall.
The 75,000 square
foot building was designed by the Summit-based architectural
firm, The Biber Partnership. The 32,000 square foot library is
wired for high-speed Internet access, contains an attractive
fireplace, a coffee shop and café and boasts terraces that
overlook the Rahway River for patrons to read and relax. The
children’s department has been nearly doubled in size – from
2,800 square feet to 5,400 square feet – resulting in expanded
and improved programs for younger residents.
The new library is a
revolutionary public-private partnership that involves selling
the top two floors to a private firm and using the remainder of
the building as public library space. This is the first such
agreement in New Jersey and only one of a handful throughout the
nation. The sale is expected to net $3.5 million to help fund
the building’s construction.
The city has received
approximately $7.4 million from the federal and state
governments, with $3 million to come from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) and $1.4 million from the state Office
of Emergency Management. The United States Economic Development
Administration is contributing $1 million, and the of a New
Jersey State Library is providing $2 million.
“Rahway now has the
finest library in Union County and perhaps the entire state of
New Jersey,” said Kennedy. “Our partnership with the state and
federal governments, as well as the private sector, made this
day possible. Furthermore, this is the only public library in
the state that will generate tax revenues, helping city
taxpayers recover a significant amount of the cost of running a
library.”
The federal and state funds were a product
of Hurricane Floyd, which swept through Rahway in September,
1999 with high winds and over a foot of rain. Because the old
library at the intersection of St. Georges and Central Avenues
sat on a flood plain of the Robinson’s Branch of the Rahway
River, the library sustained some $1 million in flood damage and
was deemed too expensive to rebuild (this being the eighth flood
in the library’s 32-year history at the site). In 2001, the old
library was demolished and replaced with an expanded park. The
park contains new landscaping, tennis courts, benches and
parking.
During the initial month of
operation, the Library’s hours are as follows:
Monday & Tuesday: 9 am – 5 pm
Wednesday: 9 am – 8 pm
For more information, please call the library at (732) 340-1551.
Click here to view additional photos of the March 20th Library
opening Ceremonies.
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