Multnomah County updates library capital bond: North Portland opening set for Feb. 8, East County tops out, St. John’s groundbreaking celebrated

Multnomah County staff and the independent Library Bond Oversight Committee told county commissioners on Thursday that the voter-approved library capital bond is advancing on schedule, with large projects in construction and a North Portland Library reopening celebration set for Feb. 8, 2025.

The briefing, led by Annie Lewis, director of Multnomah Libraries, and the library bond project team, summarized recent milestones: a ceremonial groundbreaking at St. John’s on Nov. 13, the structural “topping out” of the East County Library and a completed renovation at North Portland that received its certificate of occupancy in late 2024 and will open to the public in February. “The placing of that beam really memorializ[ed] the setting of the last beam,” said Mike Day, library capital bond program director, recounting the East County topping-out ceremony and thanking tradespeople and community partners.

Why it matters: The bond is intended to expand library space, modernize historic buildings and add services countywide. Staff said the program addresses a long-standing imbalance in library square footage east of I-205: 40% of the county’s population lives east of I-205 while 24% of library space is located there prior to bond projects. The bond funds are being used to expand or renovate seven branches (Albina, Belmont, Holgate, Midland, North Portland, Northwest and St. John’s) and to build a new East County Library estimated at about 95,000 square feet, plus systemwide upgrades such as gigabit internet and a materials handling and distribution center.