The Oakley Library’s current location inside Freedom High School was always meant to be temporary, and our community of 45,000 residents outgrew the 3,000 square foot facility years ago. A new, larger library would allow for more operating hours, more services, and more community events. A new location was supposed to be found by 2004.
Now 20 years later, Oakley has finally found the library a potential new home at the Oakley Civic Center Plaza! The City is in the process of brining a new Library and Community Center to the residents of Oakley. The Community Center will be used for community groups like the Oakley Senior Citizens and the Veterans of Oakley.
Oakley’s 45,000 residents deserve a facility that allows for the operating hours and services of other libraries in the area – an approximately 27,000 square foot facility, with over 23,000 square feet dedicated to the library, would be similar in size to the libraries in Hercules, San Pablo, Pleasant Hill and Brentwood.
The City has assembled various funding sources that total $9 million including the residual land value from a planned public-private partnership with a developer to construct housing, with a 25% affordable requirement, on a near-by City-owned block. The construction costs for a modern library are estimated to be at least $1,000 a square foot, meaning the City could deliver a 9,000 square foot facility in the near term, but a facility that meets our current and future needs would cost closer to $25 million.
What’s next? The City and its partners will continue to seek funding over the next year to bring a new facility to Oakley. We need help from the community and our representatives to make the Oakley Library and Community Center a reality for our families.
Romick in Oakley 