The Pasco County Commission has selected FleischmanGarcia, of Tampa, to handle the design and construction administration for a library planned in the Seven Oaks area of Wesley Chapel.
The new library, currently referred to as the Seven Oaks Library, is planned for a site in Seven Oaks, at 27531 Mystic Oak Blvd.
The design work is being done over the next 12 months, according to Bob Harrison, program manager at Pasco County Libraries.
The tentative opening date for the new location is in 2025, and when it opens, the Seven Oaks Library will become the county’s ninth library branch, Harrison said, via email.
The facility will feature an array of technology, including public computers, and will have meeting spaces, rooms for adults, kids and teens. It also will have books and other materials for patrons to borrow or to browse through. A makerspace is planned, too.
The details of the design have not been worked out yet, but the library team will work closely with the architect, FleischmanGarcia, on the interior footprint of the building, soliciting input from the community along the way, Harrison said.
Also, the nature of the makerspace will be determined with input from the public, as has been the case when decisions were being made about makerspaces at other library locations, Harrison added.
“We’re excited that our patrons in Wesley Chapel will be getting their very own library. This community has been growing tremendously, so this is the logical place for our next location,” Harrison said.
During its March 22 meeting, the Pasco County Commission approved a professional service agreement with FleischmanGarcia in a not-to-exceed amount of $980,428.
The funding is within the county’s fiscal year 2022 budget, under the county’s capital improvements plan project fund designated for libraries.
The library project in Seven Oaks follows discussions that occurred during the 2021 budget deliberations, when Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore said it was important to begin laying the groundwork to build a library on the Seven Oaks site, which the county has owned since 2004.
The library project got a push when the county board decided to set aside funding from the American Rescue Plan to build it.
In other library-related news, at its March 22 meeting, the county board also:
- Approved 1st Class Roofing Inc., as the lowest, responsive, and responsible bidder for the replacement of the roof at New River Library, in an amount not to exceed $89,238, as well as damaged decking provision of $3 per square foot, in the not-to-exceed amount of $25,000
This project is not part of the G.O. (General Obligation) Bond approved by voters in November of 2018, but rather is a maintenance project identified by the county’s facilities department, unrelated to the library’s interior remodeling.
- Approved a task order with Patel, Greene and Associates LLC for the completion of the Library Services Department’s Master Plan, in a not-to-exceed amount of $218,000 for a one-year term, beginning with the date of the county board’s approval.
Published March 30, 2022
