Medford Public Library intends to demolish its current building at 111 High St. and replace it with a new, $20 million-plus facility at the same location -- a plan dependent upon the city's application for state grant funding.

MPL hosted a community meeting Monday evening to update residents on renovation plans for the 56-year-old building, which in recent years has seen physical issues such as broken windows, leaky ceiling tiles and a faulty air conditioning system, among other problems.

A committee formed to oversee the library overhaul voted recently to pursue demolition of the current structure and construction of a new building, as opposed to a renovation of the existing facility.

“In terms of cost, it’s not that big a difference," said MPL Director Barbara Kerr during an interview with the Transcript. "And there would probably be issues you couldn't predict in advance with renovating a building this old."

About 35 residents attended Monday's meeting, which featured floor plan sketches for the new building presented by Angela Hyatt from architectural firm Schwartz/Silver, who joined Kerr in answering questions about the library's plans.

Cost estimates have not been finalized, but Kerr said the project would cost upward of $20 million. Estimates showed it would cost the city just $1 million more to build a new structure versus renovating the existing building, Kerr said.

The city hopes to cover nearly half of construction costs with a grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, which is scheduled to announce its next round of grant recipients in July.

Since taking over as director earlier this year, Kerr has worked with staff to piece together the library’s grant application, which is due next month.

“We have a good plan," Kerr said. "It fit everything that we wanted."

There is no guarantee that Medford will receive the state grant funding, but MBLC staff have suggested that the city is in a strong position for the grant, Kerr said. Of the 34 libraries applying for funding this year, Kerr said only two -- Medford and Newton -- are in municipalities with population of 50,000 or more.

"I think our chances are really good," Kerr said. "I'm very confident."

New library plans

The new building proposed for MPL would be nearly 50 percent larger (in terms of square feet) than the library's current facility. Kerr said shelving space for the new library is based on population growth estimates from UMass' Donahue Institute, which projects the city's population to grow to nearly 68,000 by 2035.

"We’ll actually have more shelving than we need at first," Kerr said.

The increased floor space would come mostly from a fully developed second floor, which would host expanded children's and teen service sections. The children's area would include a play zone and a space for kids who need a break from the noise and activity, Kerr said. And the teen section would be separated from the children's area by glass walls.

Plans also include 15 public-use spaces of various sizes, from small study zones to larger meeting spaces. One area might be designated for a gallery/cafe space, Kerr said.

“The big change is all of the public meeting spaces," she said.

Other additions include a performance area, maker space, digital media lab and new seating.

Parking space would increase from 27 spaces to between 32 and 39 spaces, Kerr said.

Plans for what would happen to books or current library services should the new library plan move forward have not been finalized.

MPL Building Committee

Earlier this year, the library formed a committee to oversee planning for a new or renovated building.

Committee members include:

Rick Caraviello, Medford City CouncilorBarbara Kerr, MPL DirectorSam Sednek, MPL Children's LibrarianNicole Perrault, MPL Teen Services LibrarianJack Buckley, former Medford DPW CommissionerBeth Fuller, former Medford School Committee memberEllen Tonello, Medford Library TrusteeElisabeth Schaefer, Medford Library TrusteeDavid Chia, professional planner and MPL writers' group leaderCelia Lee, Mystic Makerspace board memberAlicia Hunt, Medford Energy & Environment Director