Wabash library expansion project begins

By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

An expansion project at the Wabash Carnegie Public Library is underway.

The library board recently approved bids on the project, which calls for a more than 4,000square-foot addition to the east side of the building.

The work is expected to cost about $4.358 million.

The expansion has been in the planning stages for nearly 10 years. Bids were received, and rejected, last year after they came in higher than board members had hoped.

“We originally were hoping not to, but public entities like libraries, cities – sometimes they use bonds,” Library Director Ware Wimberly said. “We were able to, thanks to the support of the Wabash City Council, we were able to get a General Obligation Bond, which is a 20year bond.

“With that, we were able to rebid, based on that and what’s called Library Improvement Reserve Funds and a major gift that we received about three years ago.”

The board set a cap at $4.5 million when seeking the new bids, Wimberly said.

“We rebid it and had two bids back,” he continued. “The one that was lowest and qualified was

Hamilton Hunter

Builders; they’re based in Fort Wayne.”

Work began last week is projected to continue for 425 days.

The first phase of the project will add the addition to the east toward the site of the former Farlow Optometry office. The project won’t extend to where the office was located. Rather, that location will be reseeded and left in its natural condition.

“Ten years from now, if the board at that time wants to do something, it can,” he said.

The second and third phases are renovation of the entire building.

“In my view, it’s a pressing need,” Wimberly said. “We have a really neat, historical building that has served this community great for many years. It still does, but we need to be able to do more in our building. We need a space that’s a little more flexible in terms of how we can serve patrons.

In the project, Wimberly noted, his office will be turned into a meeting room.

The library’s last major renovation took place in the 1972. In that 50-year period, Wimberly said, library services have changed.

“This space needs to be more in line with what that is, which is a more multi-purpose, flexible space,” he said.

The new addition will blend in with the existing structure.

In addition to the base bid, there