The former Best Buy store on Appleton's southeast side is set to be the temporary site for the public library

Duke Behnke, Appleton Post-Crescent
·2 min read
The former Best Buy on Appleton's southeast side has been identified as the temporary site of the Appleton Public Library while the existing library is renovated and expanded.
The former Best Buy on Appleton's southeast side has been identified as the temporary site of the Appleton Public Library while the existing library is renovated and expanded.

APPLETON - Officials have picked the former Best Buy store on the city's southeast side as the temporary location of the Appleton Public Library while the existing library is renovated and expanded.

The move is contingent upon the approval of the Library Board on Tuesday.

“We are fortunate to have found a site that can provide the space we need, in a convenient location on a bus route,” Library Director Colleen Rortvedt said. “The temporary library will provide a scaled-down space, prioritizing access to the library collection and technology. We’re also working with our community partners to develop plans for programming in multiple locations throughout the community during construction.”

The big-box store, 2411 S. Kensington Drive, is being used as a COVID-19 testing site by the Appleton Health Department. Testing at the building will end Feb. 25, and the transition to the temporary library will take place in early spring.

The library will operate from the temporary site for about 18 months.

Operating expenses of the move and temporary location will be covered largely by existing operating funds for the library and supplemented by project funds as needed.

“The facility is ideal to serve as a temporary library as it can be used with little modifications," project manager Dean Gazza said. “Overall, we were looking for a location that not only could provide good library services, but also to do so economically during construction of the new library.”

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An architectural drawing shows the proposed south facade of the renovated and expanded Appleton Public Library.
An architectural drawing shows the proposed south facade of the renovated and expanded Appleton Public Library.

The most recent cost estimate for the library project totaled $39 million — nearly 50% over budget — due in part to pandemic-induced inflation affecting labor and materials.

City officials, though, remain committed to capping the local tax burden at $26.4 million in borrowing. Appleton also set aside $2 million in federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act for broadband access at the library, and it could receive as much as $11 million in grant money from the Wisconsin Neighborhood Investment Fund Program.

In addition, Friends of Appleton Public Library is planning a fundraising campaign to support the project.

Construction is expected to start later this year and continue into 2023.

Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.

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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton library's temporary location set to be former Best Buy store