The new Karl Road Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library officially opened for business earlier this month.
A ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for the new building, located at 5590 Karl Rd., was held on September 9.
A similar event is scheduled for September 30 to celebrate the opening of a newly renovated and expanded Hilltop Branch, at 511 S. Hague Ave.
The new, 40,000-square-foot Karl Road branch is roughly twice the size of the former branch, which was located farther back from the road but on the same property.
The old branch closed in May and was demolished in June to make way for the new branch’s parking lot.
The new building was designed by Moody Nolan.
The upgraded Hilltop branch will add about 12,000 square feet and completely change the look of the original building, which was built in 1996 and offered 20,000 square feet of space. Gresham Smith is the architect for the project.
The two new libraries are part of what Columbus Metropolitan Libraries is calling Phase II of its building program. The first phase saw 10 of the system’s 23 branches renovated or rebuilt.
Also including in Phase II is a new Gahanna branch, which is under construction, and a new Reynoldsburg branch, for which planning is now underway.
Time-lapse videos of the construction have been posted on YouTube for both the Karl Road and Hilltop branches.
For more information on the new buildings, see www.columbuslibrary.org.
