Ground broken for Canfield's new 'community hub'

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

milliken@vindy.com

CANFIELD

Saying it will be a community hub, library officials conducted a formal groundbreaking Friday for the new $5 million Canfield public library.

The 18,135-square-foot library will replace the 5,104-square-foot, 1969-

vintage branch, which closed Sept. 20 on the same site at 43 W. Main St.

The former library has been emptied of library

materials and will be demolished in about two weeks, along with two adjacent houses.

Library, school and city

officials as well as school and preschool children attended the expedited ceremony in a tent in front of the former library, retreating inside the building for a reception as the rain intensified.

“We hope that the library’s proximity to the [Village] Green will firmly connect it to the community and spur economic growth,” said

Dr. David Ritchie, library board president.

“When a community gets a new library, it’s a very special occasion that happens maybe once in a lifetime,” said Library Director Heidi Daniel.

“This new library will be a multigenerational learning hub” with “new technology, which can inspire all ages,” she added.

“This is just a wonderful, wonderful thing for Canfield, not just the city of Canfield, but Canfield Township and even surrounding communities,” said Bernie Kosar Sr., Canfield mayor.

The new library will be part of the 15-branch Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.

A temporary library branch opened Wednesday in rent-free quarters at the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm, 7574 Columbiana-Canfield Road, and will remain open during the 12- to 18-month demolition and construction period.

The temporary branch is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and offers children’s programming in partnership with the park district. It also will be open during special park events.

After a decade of planning, library trustees awarded all of the construction contracts for the debt-free project to Mahoning or Shenango valley companies, with the general demolition and construction contractor being Hudson Construction Inc. of Hermitage, Pa.

Other contractors are Morrone Mechanical Inc., of Lowellville, plumbing; York-Mahoning Mechanical Contractors Inc., of Youngstown, mechanical trades; RNL Fire Systems LLC, of Youngstown, fire protection; and Tri-Area Electric Co. Inc., of Youngstown, electrical.

The new building, located in the center of Canfield, is designed as both a library and a community center, said Ronald Cornell Faniro of Youngstown, project architect.

It will feature an entrance lounge and coffee counter, a large meeting room, a smaller activity and training space, two conference rooms for small-group study, a single service desk, quiet reading dens in the back of the adult section, a teen room with closable glass doors, and an expanded children’s section — including an “early literacy playscape.”

The new library’s primary exterior wall color will be khaki with white trim, and it will have a dark-brown metal roof and covered entrance walkways.

The parking lot will be entered from either West Main Street (U.S. Route 224) or from Lisbon Street (U.S. Route 62). Sidewalks will link the library to West Main, Lisbon Street, South Broad Street (state Route 46) and the Village Green.

Firefighters will use the former library and adjacent houses for forced entry, search and rescue, escape and ventilation training before they are demolished, said Canfield Fire Chief Don Hutchison.