Key Points:
• Brookhaven is soliciting feedback from the public on a new location for a library in the city.
• Officials said that since the new county administration has taken over, the project has advanced after years of stagnation.
• The survey closes on Nov. 30.
The City of Brookhaven is soliciting the public’s input as a plan develops to build a new library, which could end the decades-long saga.
At its Oct. 9 business meeting, the city council approved a public engagement campaign to determine the best spot to build a new DeKalb County public library in Brookhaven.
The city, in cooperation with DeKalb County, put up a five-question Survey Monkey poll asking participants about their preference as to its location.
Among the choices: remaining at its current location at the corner of Apple Valley Road and North Druid Hills Road, building the facility in the MARTA parking lot behind city hall that is planned for a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), or constructing it at the corner of Peachtree Road and Osborne Road, at the former DeKalb CSB (Claratel) building site.
“Since the last time this topic was publicly discussed, there have been some new opportunities for the potential relocation of the DeKalb County Library in Brookhaven,” said Brookhaven Council Member Madeleine Simmons said in an online release. “We are planning the transit-oriented development in partnership with MARTA on Apple Valley Road, and we are beginning the demolition of the old Claratel building in Brookhaven Park. Either of those locations might be a better fit, but we want to hear from the residents to see what they think.”
The Brookhaven Library has been a point of contention between the city and DeKalb for years. The library was selected for replacement as part of a library bond referendum in 2005. DeKalb allocated funds to former District 2 Commissioner Jeff Rader, who said the library at the corner of North Druid Hills Road and Apple Valley Road lacked parking and space for renovation.
DeKalb looked to Brookhaven Park for the new library site, which resulted in a legal battle over the land.
In 2022, a settlement allowed Brookhaven to purchase the park land from DeKalb for $1 if the city promised to pay $1.6 million toward a new library.
Simmons told Rough Draft that since DeKalb CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson took office in January, movement towards bringing the project towards fruition “has improved dramatically.”
Brookhaven Communications Director Burke Brennan agreed.
“The saga has gone on for many years, but there hasn’t been a lot of engagement until now,” Brennan said. “We hope that this survey will continue to move the process along.”
Related stories:
• New Brookhaven library location remains a mystery more than decade after funding approved
• New Brookhaven library long overdue as city, county squabble
Simmons said the site where the library currently resides may pose issues.
“I believe that the current site might need a number of variances and may have some flood plain issues, but ultimately we want to hear from the community as to what they think is the best site,” Simmons said.
In July 2023, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved a $388,000 contract for architectural and
engineering services to Cas Architecture.
Residents are invited to participate in the five-question survey, by clicking this link or scanning the QR code. The survey, which has already gathered about 500 responses, will remain open through Nov. 30.
The post After decades, the needle may be moving on a building new Brookhaven library appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.
Leave a Reply