By DEBRA HAIGHT

Special to Leader Publications

 

BUCHANAN – Buchanan residents will not have much longer to wait for the opening of the Front Street doors of the Buchanan District library.

Opening the library’s Front Street doors to the public has been a long-term goal, and Director Barbara Wallace said the work should start in the spring.

Wallace said the library’s “Open Doors, Open Books, Open Minds” building fund campaign has reached the point where the library board is getting ready to go out for bids on the Front Street door project. The board has also just hired a new architectural firm, Forum Architecture of South Bend, to come up with plans for the project.

The first phase of the building project, which involved first floor renovations, were completed two years ago. More recently, the library completed a $115,000 roofing project this summer.

“The big focus now is on opening the Front Street doors, restoring the outside of the building and putting in an elevator,” Wallace said. “It will take three to four months to iron out the details and put it out for bid. We expect to start construction in the spring of 2018.”

She noted that, in addition to having the Front Street doors open, people have been asking for better lighting around the building and upgrades on the exterior.

“We want to give the library more of a presence in the downtown. Some people are still not aware it’s the library,” Wallace said.

The library has been in its current location, in the former Electro-Voice office building at the corner of Front Street and Days Avenue, for 15 years, in the heart of the downtown. The library’s entrance has been on the back of the building during that time.

After the Front Street door and elevator work is done, Wallace said the final phase of the building campaign is to put in a community room on the library’s second floor. Wallace does not have a set date for when that work will be done.

Besides leading the library, Wallace has been busy the last few months as the new chairman of the Downtown Development Authority board. She described the DDA as “going back to basics,” as staffing changes in Buchanan city government has left the downtown development authority without a full-time director.

Wallace and DDA member Randy Hendrixson said the lack of a full-time director has caused DDA members to take a more active role in downtown development work. Hendrixson also heads the Buchanan and Four Flags Area Chambers of Commerces.

“We’re focusing on development and historic preservation, on the bricks and mortar,” Wallace said. “We have a loan/grant program for building owners and are looking at compiling a list of contractors and available equipment they can use.”

“When Debra Patzer left the (DDA director) position, I looked at it as an opportunity to re-align ourselves and spend more time on our actual mission,” Hendrixson said. “We want to make the most impact with the funds we have available to help with brick and mortar projects and looking at what else people want.”

Promotions and marketing has been a major emphasis in recent months. Hendrixson heads the DDA’s promotions and marketing committee and said committee members are actively planning for upcoming community events such as the White Saturday promotion after Thanksgiving.

Wallace noted the DDA supports a number of events during the year including White Saturday which is part of Small Business Saturday and UnSanctioned, which brings people downtown on Memorial Day weekend.