APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The city of Appleton will break ground on its new library on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The project will include several significant changes to the existing downtown library. It’s a project 15 years in the making.
“I love the library and the library programs,” Appleton Resident Tenley Koehler said. “I’m so excited they’re expanding.”
When the city’s common council approved bids last month, the library’s staff wasted no time getting the ball rolling on construction.
“We’re just really hoping to make a community celebration and honor what this building has done for us already and acknowledge that it’s going to be kind of the foundation for the future as well,” Library Director Colleen Rortvedt said.
The groundbreaking ceremony will feature speakers, live music and various activities. Rortvedt said it’s an event for everyone to enjoy.
“It was also really important to us that we incorporated children,” Rortvedt said. “We know that the library’s going to be a really important place for kids and hopefully their kids.”
That’s welcome news for Appleton resident Koehler and her son Arthur.
“They’ve been so amazing as a parent and someone that’s new to the area,” Tenley Koehler said. “Just an invaluable resource.”
“I hope it’s just like this one,” Arthur said. “Because I think it might be just as fun as this one.”
About 26 of the $40 million project is being locally funded. Of the remaining $14 million, $12 million will come from donations by The Friends of the Appleton Public Library, and $2 million will be ARPA funds. That’s why library staff members are encouraging everyone who misses the event to check out renderings and videos to get an early look at what to expect.
“It’s really important for us to have people to be able to get a sense of what the space will feel like,” Rortvedt said. “We are still using the existing structure of the building that our architects really found a lot of value in that space. And the bulk of the structure is the same structure that everybody knows.”
The Appleton library will continue operating out of a temporary location on the city’s east side until renovation is complete.
Staff expect the new library to be ready in late 2024 or early 2025.
