City of Troy Explores Ideas for New Library Building

Leaders from the City of Troy are discussing ideas for building a new community library.

If the plan moves forward, the new library will be located near the Troy Community Center, across from the current library. Staff members envision the new library being double the size of the current structure.

Library Director Emily Dumas said the current decades-old library building has several shortcomings, including insufficient space to accommodate families, students, and library programs.

"The problem with this library building is the original building is from 1971 and the addition was from 1984. There's been no major renovations and no expansions since then," Dumas said in an interview with 7 News Detroit. “What we found is people want more study space, more study rooms. They want a better play area and a better kid section for the children. In the last few years, we've had to put a new roof on, and there was a mold issue in the HVAC system."

Troy Mayor Ethan Baker said the city is considering creating a bond proposal that would include significant projects like the library and other capital needs throughout the city. These ideas would all go onto the ballot in November.

“We would, of course, give the voters all of the facts and make the ultimate decision as to how they want to pay for the city and what kind of city they want to live [in]," Baker said in an interview with 7 News Detroit.

The library plans to host a joint city council and planning commission meeting to discuss the concept and design for a new library building. The meeting will be held on Monday, April 28, at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend.