Dakota County is building a new 16,000-square-foot county library at the corner of Marie Avenue and Seventh Avenue in South St. Paul.
For about a century, the City of South St. Paul operated its own library. Because of cost increases to operate and maintain the site at 106 Third St., the city asked Dakota County to add the location into the county system. After studying the specific needs of the South St. Paul community and a cost analysis, the Dakota County Board of Commissioners approved the project. Design efforts and the merger of the city's library into the county library system is underway.
BKV Group Architects designed the building.
The existing building will be repurposed by the City of South St. Paul.
Library amenities
When the library opens, visiting customers will find many great amenities. There will be many places to meet, read and study. The building will have a large community meeting room, several conference rooms equipped with audio-visual technology, study rooms, and a reading garden.
Other outdoor features include bike racks, EV charging stations, an accessible exterior book drop and an accessible ramp to the building. All services will be held on a single level.
Families will find a calming room near the interactive children's area. Visitors of all ages can watch the book handler process returns through a kid-friendly window in the lobby.
Go to the South St. Paul Library project site for more information
Construction update – January 2023
The new South St. Paul Library is beginning to take form. Much has changed to the site since work began in late September. Donlar Construction did the following work in 2022:
- Site construction stormwater protection measures were installed, and a perimeter site fence was installed.
- Site clearing and excavating and the demolition of the existing remaining foundations and wall was completed.
- Excavation and installation of concrete foundations was completed. This included waterproofing, insulating and backfilling the foundations and installing stormwater treatment structures.
- Concrete masonry walls are roughly one-third complete.
- Structural framing materials began to arrive on site and the first beams and lintels were placed.
In the next three months, the building's exterior block walls will finish up, and the roof structure will begin to take form. After that, the roofing material and exterior brick work will begin.
Keep checking this page for future updates.
Tentative project timeline
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September–October 2021: Concept Design – Public and stakeholders asked to offer input
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October–December 2021: Schematic Design – Library plans created based on input
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Jan. 11, 2022: Design approved by Dakota County Board of Commissioners
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June 2022: Design complete
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Late summer 2022: Bidding for construction project
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September 2022: Contractor approved
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Fall 2022: Construction begins
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Quarter 1 - 2024: Library opens
Questions?
You can find more information on the South St. Paul Library project website or contact Dakota County's project manager at
michael.wiese@co.dakota.mn.us.