Newport library/fire station gets council approval

Plans for the new Corona del Mar library and fire station received final approval from Newport Beach City Council members Tuesday night.

The unanimous approval of the “fibrary,” the dual-purpose library and fire station on Marigold Avenue, comes after months of public meetings with library staff, firefighters, residents and Friends of the CdM Library, which formed earlier this year to advocate for a larger library than city officials originally drafted.

Joy Brenner, who founded the Friends of the CdM Library group, applauded city staff and elected officials for expanding the library to fit resident’s desires.

“I see this project as a real model of how citizens, staff and legislators work together for the betterment of the community,” she said. “We had differences along the way, but we were able to work together.”

City staff in 2014 initially proposed an 8,000 square foot facility, which would have reduced the size of the library from 3,750 feet to 2,500 feet. The cost of the facility was expected to be about $6.5 million. The finalized project, which is expected to cost roughly $8 million, is now more than 10,000 square feet with a library that measures in at 3,872 square feet with a 635-square-foot outside patio.

The CdM library branch, at 420 Marigold Ave., first opened in 1959. It was expanded by 2,000 square feet in 1968 and, at 3,795 square feet, is able to house about 25,000 books.

The one-story fire station, next to the library at 410 Marigold Ave., has been in service since around 1950. The new station will be two stories and about 6,000 square feet, or about twice the space firefighters have there now.

City staff expect to break ground on the library and fire station by summer 2016. Construction could take between 12 and 14 months, they say.

“This is going to be a tremendous community resource as it has been for generations,” said Councilman Keith Curry. “This is a great project.”

—Staff Writer Bradley Zint contributed to this report