Council hears library team’s plan to buy downtown building; financing, sustainability still to be finalized

Lincoln City Libraries Director Ryan Weaver told the City Council on July 21 that the library is pursuing purchase of Southeast Community College’s Education Square (1111 O Street) and plans to reuse the existing building as a new downtown central library.

Weaver said the project budget now stands at about $46.2 million — a roughly 35% reduction from prior estimates for other sites — with the city planning to issue municipal improvement bonds (MIBs) in an amount not to exceed $25 million and to seek roughly $18 million in private philanthropy to make the project whole. Weaver said the library program is based on roughly 65,000 square feet of public library space with an additional 15,000 square feet reserved for a partner organization.

The library director emphasized adaptive reuse, site advantages and program priorities. “This is a great example of a public and private partnership,” Weaver said, citing access to a parking garage at the site, proximity to transit and program elements such as children’s and teen spaces, makerspaces, study rooms, a heritage/local history room and a rooftop auditorium.

Why it matters: The proposal would…