INDIANAPOLIS — Purchase agreements approved by The Indianapolis Public Library Board of Trustees will clear the way for construction of a new Brightwood Branch on the city’s near east side.
After more than a year of negotiations with property owners, Library trustees on December 18 approved purchases of four tracts totaling 2.3 acres on which a new 15,000-square-foot branch will be built. It will replace an undersized facility in the Brightwood Shopping Center that has served the community since 1972. The acquired properties are located across from the shopping center near the intersection of E. 25th Street and N. Sherman Drive. The Library also will work to acquire the titles of other adjacent properties either subject to disposition by the County Commission or available for transfer through the Renew Indianapolis program. The location for a new Brightwood Branch will meet several important goals, including access to public transportation and safe, walkable access for children and adults. The branch will provide new spaces for children and teens, more computer access and an enhanced community meeting area. Its greater visual presence will allow the Library to serve as an anchor to stimulate neighborhood development. It will also serve as a major partner in the Brightwood Education Zone, initiated by Martin University to provide comprehensive educational support and services to mothers and children through grade 5 in the neighborhood.
Community engagement meetings, facilitated by project architect Axis Architecture + Interiors, will be held during the first quarter of 2018 to gather public input on the new library’s design and community priorities. Design work will continue throughout 2018 with construction beginning in early 2019. The new Brightwood Branch is scheduled to open in early 2020.
The $5.9 million Brightwood Branch is part of an overall series of capital projects identified in the Library’s Strategic Plan continuing through 2022 and funded from individual bonds approved by the Indianapolis City-Council Council with no increase in the Library’s current debt service tax rate.
