December 18, 2024
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Joliet library pays back city for multi-million dollar remodeling project

Library used money to remodel interior of 1903 downtown building

By Bob Okon

A balcony created in the remodeled downtown branch of the Joliet Public Library marks the transition from the original 1903 building designed by renowned architect Daniel Burnham and the modernized section of the library that was built in 1991. (Bob Okon)

The Joliet Public Library has announced that it has received the full $6.3 million state grant for its Project Burnham remodeling of the Ottawa Street Branch, and it will be used to pay back the city of Joliet.

The city issued bonds to pay the project costs upfront with the agreement that it would get the money back once the library received the grant.

“These bonds will be paid off by the recently received state grant several years earlier than expected,” according to a news release from the library.

The library also used its own reserve funds to pay a portion of the $10.5 million project, which was done in 2021 and 2022.

Former state Sen. Pat McGuire and Library Executive Director Megan Millen spent some time outside the McGuire Room at the downtown library branch during a grand opening for the Project Burnham renovations. The room was named for McGuire who secured a $6.3 million state grant so the library could go ahead with the Project Burnham remodeling. (Bob Okon)

“We initially expected the money to be distributed gradually over a span of a few years,” library Executive Director Megan Millen said in the release, calling it “great news” that the city could be reimbursed ahead of schedule.

Millen expressed appreciation to the Joliet City Council for approving the bond and to former state Sen. Pat McGuire, who secured the grant for the library.

The interior remodeling of the library was named after renowned Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, who designed the original library building constructed in 1903. An expansion designed to blend in with the original building was built in 1991.

Project Burnham included a Children’s Zone, an expanded Digital Media Studio, a local history room, individual study rooms, new furniture and other features.

The library noted the popularity of the individual study rooms. In 2023, there were 2,330 reservations for the study rooms through November.

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