Temporary site of Appleton Public Library will change in January in deal with senior center
APPLETON - The temporary location of the Appleton Public Library will change in January, moving from the former Best Buy at 2411 S. Kensington Drive to the former Habitat ReStore at 3000 E. College Ave.
As part of the deal, the city plans to provide $1 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to the Thompson Center on Lourdes, Appleton's nonprofit senior center, to support its effort to establish a long-term home at 3000 E. College. Its move would happen soon after the library returns downtown to its newly constructed $40.4 million facility.
The library closed its doors at 225 N. Oneida St. in April 2022 in preparation for construction and temporarily moved to the Kensington site, initially leasing it from Commercial Horizons through August 2023. The lease later was extended through December but cannot be extended further "due to new, market-rate national tenants moving into the space," the city said in a news release Monday.
The retail tenants haven't been disclosed.
"The return of the space the library was temporarily in to long-term, market-rate retail is a good thing for the community," Mayor Jake Woodford said, "and we are thankful for the opportunity we have had to lease that space for as long, and as reasonably priced, as we have."
The city has been paying $12,500 a month to lease 25,000 square feet of space.
To facilitate the move, the current temporary location of the library will close in November. The library is scheduled to reopen at its new temporary location in early January.
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Search leads to partnership with Thompson Center
Appleton's search for a second temporary location led to a partnership with the Thompson Center, which plans to renovate the building at 3000 E. College for its long-term use.
The Thompson Center has been leasing space from St. Bernadette Parish, 2331 E. Lourdes Drive, since 2016 and has extended its lease with the parish to allow the library to temporarily occupy 3000 E. College.
Board President Aoibh Greene said the Thompson Center is "grateful to have this opportunity to give back to our community by collaborating with the Appleton Public Library."
The Thompson Center requested $1 million in federal ARPA money for its new home, and city staff will recommend distributing the full amount. The allocation needs the approval of the Common Council, which could come as soon as Wednesday.
"The timeline is very tight on this project because of the lead time required to close the library, suspend operations, make all of those notifications and then just the logistics of the move itself," Woodford said.
Library Board must approve sublease from Thompson Center
In addition to the council's approval of the ARPA grant, the Library Board must finalize several arrangements for the plan to come together: closing the existing temporary site, hiring a moving company and signing a sublease from the Thompson Center for the new temporary location.
The monthly cost of the new lease is expected to be the same or slightly less than the current lease and will be covered by the library's operating budget.
Moving expenses will fall within the $40.4 million budget for the new library, Woodford said, and modifications to 3000 E. College will be handled by the Thompson Center as part of the library’s lease of the space.
"We appreciate the community's patience and support during our transition," Library Director Colleen Rortvedt said. "We extend our sincere gratitude to Commercial Horizons for their unwavering support, and to the Thompson Center on Lourdes for their exceptional partnership and commitment to community. Collectively, we are setting the stage for a reinvigorated downtown library where the community can really come alive."
Construction of the new library is expected to be finished by late 2024 or early 2025. The Thompson Center expects to move to 3000 E. College in late spring 2025.
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 Public Library's temporary site will change in January
