News Photo by Crystal Nelson Alpena County Library Director Eric Magness-Eubank on Wednesday talks about the progress of the library renovation.

ALPENA — Alpena County Library officials expect the library to reopen to the public in its downtown location no later than October 1.

The library is undergoing a $3.7 million renovation and was originally expected to reopen by Memorial Day. However, Library Director Eric Magness-Eubank said workers discovered more asbestos than planned, which changed the timeline of the project.

Magness-Eubank said another month was spent on asbestos removal, with the total cost of asbestos abatement coming to about $250,000.

“The way things stand now is we will probably be closing Bear Point to the public sometime in the middle to end of July to get everything ready to move,” he said of the library’s temporary location in Bear Pointe Plaza, located along U.S. 23 South.

He noted it will likely take the movers one to two weeks to move the collection back into the library.

Magness-Eubank said one of the challenges in moving back into the library will be reintegrating its collections. Only a fraction of the library’s collection is available to the public in its temporary location, while the rest of the collection is in storage.

In the meantime, the renovation inside of the library is starting to take shape.

A new entrance and elevator are being installed inside the building off of Park Place. Patrons will also find a much more open floor plan when they enter the building, as the central staircase has been removed. A new staircase is being constructed near the entryway.

The library’s adult collection and computers will be located on the first floor, while the children’s section, a room for teens, a makerspace, and the library’s special collections will be located on the second floor.

The library will also be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as the new elevator can transport people to the second floor and a new ramp gives patrons with mobility issues access to the conference rooms. There are also plans for a handicap-accessible bathroom.

Windows installed along Park Place, 1st Avenue, and Water Street will allow more light into the building and will give patrons a clear view of city hall.

Meanwhile, the public is able to check out materials from the library’s temporary Bear Pointe Plaza location. The public can also browse the temporary location’s collection by appointment, which is scheduled every 30 minutes.

A maximum of four people can browse the collection at a time. Appointments can be made by calling 989-356-6188, ext. 10.

The renovation was approved in August 2019 by Alpena County voters who supported the library’s property tax renewal. The renewal costs the owner of a $100,000 house about $12.50 a year and is expected to bring in $232,546.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Bear Pointe Plaza is the name of the shopping center the library’s temporary location operates out of. The plaza’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.