Crowd gathers for grand opening of new Cary Regional Library

The Cary Library has called the single-story brick building at 310 S. Academy St. its home since 1977. The old space shut its doors on Oct. 20 and will expand Sunday into a new two-story building at 315 Kildaire Farm Road.

The new 23,450-square-foot library will hold 90,000 books, 32 public computers and numerous program spaces. Its window-lined exterior provides plenty of natural light and a view of downtown Cary and the fountain below.

The first floor features the children’s collection and a large children’s program room, and the second floor will feature the Adult Services collection, a community meeting room and a quiet study. A 600-space parking deck behind the library is connected to the building by a walkway for library patrons.

"The library will be the largest and nicest library in Wake County," Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht wrote in his blog. "It will also be one of the only two-story libraries in the county. The views from the library and the parking deck were amazing."

A grand opening and dedication ceremony was held at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the new space. Dozens gathered in the brisk fall air for the event, which featured speakers and a performance from a local school.

The large parking deck connected to the library will provide free parking and feature dedicated spaces for library visitors.

Though a walkway connects the two buildings, the parking deck will serve the entire downtown Cary community, providing space for people visiting the fountain area and future park, the Cary Arts Center and other downtown businesses. Parking in the deck will be free, according to officials.

According to the Town of Cary, construction on the new library and parking deck began in June 2018. The combined construction cost of the library and parking deck is $23.7 million, while the library portion of the project is $10.7 million.

According to Ted Boyd, Director of Economic Development, the Town of Cary plans to redevelop the library's old site, which is located across from Cotton House Brewers and The Mayton Inn, and potential developers will be solicited in early 2020.

"In December, the Town will begin the process of asbestos remediation prior to demolition," Boyd told WRAL News in an email. "We do not anticipate any demolition of the old library to begin until January or February of 2020."

According to Boyd, the parking lot behind the old library should remain open for public parking until the site is completely redeveloped.

Prior to 1977, the Cary Library called numerous other downtown spaces home, including the space that currently houses Serendipity, a deli on Academy Street. The very first Cary Community Library opened on West Chatham Street in 1960.