Menasha Public Library accelerates pace of $8 million renovation due to donor interest

MENASHA — The proposed renovation of the Menasha Public Library, now estimated to cost $8 million, has been accelerated to this summer due to strong interest from benefactors willing to support the project.

The renovation would be funded by $3 million from Menasha taxpayers and $5 million from private fundraising.

"If everything stays on the current timeline, we would like to actually begin construction in early June and be back in the library sometime in early 2025," Library Director Brian Kopetsky said.

The Common Council unanimously approved sending out a request for proposals for a construction manager that would work with Eppstein Uhen Architects Inc. on the final design and cost estimate and then oversee the renovation.

The library, formally known as the Elisha D. Smith Public Library, is located at 440 First St.

Large canopy pulled from design to reduce cost

The 2024 city budget that was approved three months ago had projected the cost of the renovation at $10 million and had called for the work to be funded largely in 2025.

Kopetsky said the higher estimate accounted for the construction of a large canopy on the front of the library. That's been removed, he said, because it "didn't really add anything to the library's usable spaces."

The faster timeline for the project developed after talking to potential donors and receiving better-than-expected results.

Kopetsky said the fundraising campaign will kick off in April. No lead donor has been announced.

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Will the Menasha library move during the renovation?

As part of the project, the library temporarily would move to suites 6 and 7 of the Menasha Marketplace at 1730 Appleton Road. That's the north part of the former Shopko Plaza that once was home to Xperience Fitness and to Mike's Super Plus grocery store before that.

"We can have this process done in half the time if we move off site," Kopetsky said, noting it could shorten the construction period by six months.

The Common Council approved the move and directed staff to negotiate a lease with property owner Alexander & Bishop 1 at a cost not to exceed $200,000.

The relocation and lease costs are part of the $8 million total.

What's all involved in the renovation?

The two-story library was built in 1969 and remodeled and expanded in 2003.

The 2024 renovation would last six to seven months.

"We're not doing a lot with the actual outside of the building," Kopetsky told The Post-Crescent. "It's mostly internal renovation, and our main goal is to allow us to do more with community gathering and in-house programming."

The library currently has three meeting rooms and two conference rooms. In those five spaces, the library had more than 2,300 bookings last year.

The renovation will result in three study rooms, two conference rooms and five or six meeting rooms, including one capable of seating 150 people. The plan also includes an outdoor sitting and programming space.

"It really will allow us to create a library that's set for the 21st century," Kopetsky said. "I think we will be one of the best libraries in the Fox Valley."

Why is the renovation of the Menasha library needed?

Kopetsky said the library no longer is simply a place where patrons enter, grab materials and leave.

Rather, it has become a place for hands-on learning through programs like SMITHworks, an interest-driven creator space at the library.

"It becomes the only learning place in the community for people who are older than school age to come in and learn something new where we're not handing them a bill for that service," Kopetsky said, "and then it certainly creates another path for our kids to come in and really start looking at the things that their personal interests are in. When they go to school, their curriculum is decided for them. When they come to us, they can pick and choose."

Kopetsky said 80% of the library currently is quiet space and 20% is activity space.

"We need to flip that," he said, "because for the most part, the quiet people, it's a pretty small number."

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

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Menasha Public Library accelerates pace of $8 million renovation