Construction Nears for Gaithersburg Library

After more than a year of delay, work to expand and upgrade Gaithersburg Library will begin next week, county officials say.

Henley Construction Company, Inc.—which built the 30-year-old library—will launch 17 months of construction on Monday, a $25.6 million expansion that will add 27,745 square feet to the library's 33,726-square-foot first floor, and build a 7,900-square-foot second floor.

The first floor renovation will include new HVAC, lighting, electrical and plumbing systems; more space for children and young adult services; and more computer and Wi-Fi access. The second floor will hold storage space, meeting rooms for up to 400 people and a satellite office of the Gilchrist Center, the county’s immigrant welcome agency.

County officials will mark the start of construction at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the library, 18330 Montgomery Village Ave. Residents will have opportunity to ask officials about the project.

The library shut down in the spring of 2010. Construction was supposed to start as early as that summer, but . A temporary branch—one-tenth the size—opened a year ago in Lakeforest mall.

Prior to the opening of Germantown Library, the Gaithersburg Library was the county’s busiest. More than 70,000 residents are card-holders within the eight ZIP codes the branch serves. Yearly circulation tops 1 million items and more than 700,000 visits.