The Central Library at Stevens Ranch in east Bend held its groundbreaking ceremony on May 20. The library at Stevens Ranch, situated on 8.5 acres at the northeast corner of 27th Street and Wilderness Way, will include 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. The building is expected to take approximately two years to complete.
The largest Deschutes Public Library building right now is the nearly 28-year-old Downtown Bend library, which was designed for a community of 35,000 people, according to Library Director Todd Dunkelberg.
"The population has shot past what we are able to serve, so this is really going to help with that," Dunkelberg said.
The three-story building will offer community meeting rooms, as well as study and co-working spaces, reading areas and creative DIY spaces.
The second level of the library will meet the needs of children and teens. "The number-one thing people have talked about wanting to have in the library was interactive children's spaces. It's going to have a large space for kids of all ages," Dunkelberg said.
The library will offer areas for young children to play and interact. It will also have spaces for quieter reading and a story time area, welcoming children of varying ages. Middle- to high-school-age teens will have a dedicated space of their own.
Another amenity that Dunkelberg said people wanted was a cafe, which will be another feature. Among those offerings, the space will have a number of interesting outdoor features, including multi-use patio areas and a drive-up window for customers to conveniently pick up and drop off materials.
The Central Library at Stevens Ranch will be an all-electric building built to meet LEED Gold certification standard, a rating system denoting a building has a sustainable design.
Voters approved a nearly $200 million bond measure in 2020 to build a new central library, as well as repair, modernize and upgrade other area libraries.
"We're so thankful for the community's support to make this happen," said Dunkelberg.
