Construction work begins on new, larger Redmond Library; temporary space opens

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The new Redmond Library is officially under construction after six years of planning and preparation, officials said Thursday. The 40,000-square-foot library is slated to open in the fall of 2024.

“It’s an exciting time as we look toward the library’s future in Redmond,” said Library Director Todd Dunkelberg. “We have heard the community ask for more meeting spaces, work spaces and areas for both children and teens, as well as more books and collections in general. We are responding with a new building that will provide all of that, plus essential library resources and tools for our digital age.”

A temporary Redmond Library location is now open at 2127 South Highway 97. In addition to providing materials like books and DVDs, this space also offers a small meeting room, public computers and printers, seating areas and familiar artwork like the bronze “reading girl” statue. The temporary space is open Monday–Saturday.

The current construction timeline is as follows:

• Week of January 30: Exterior landscape removal begins
• Week of February 6: Exterior and interior demolition begins
• March: Groundbreaking ceremony and commemorative brick giveaway (date to come)
• Week of April 3: New construction begins

The groundbreaking ceremony, which will take place in the first half of March, is intended to honor the past while turning an eye toward the future. The public is invited to attend and to take home a brick from the Jessie Hill building after the ceremony.

“As a former manager of the Redmond Library, I understand the community’s connection to the Jessie Hill building and its past,” Dunkelberg said. “But because of the building’s age and patched-together additions over the years, the architects and engineers we consulted with concluded that an expansion wasn’t structurally possible.”

Dunkelberg said that given Redmond’s growth — the population has increased more than 225% since the library came into service in 1996 — a larger space with modern amenities and services was needed to serve the vibrant Redmond community.

Once completed, the new Redmond Library will feature large and divisible meeting spaces for community use, collaborative and co-working spaces, DIY spaces for creative activities and programs, a dynamic children’s area, a dedicated space for teens and more.

In November of 2020, Deschutes County voters supported the Library’s bond measure to expand and improve libraries across the county. In addition to building a new library in Redmond, bond funds are being used to remodel and update existing libraries in Downtown Bend, La Pine, Sisters and Sunriver, as well as for the construction of a new library at Stevens Ranch in east Bend to serve all Deschutes County residents.

Find more information about the Library’s bond-funded projects on its website: www.deschuteslibrary.org/futurelibraries