To begin the design process, the team held public sessions, met with current library patrons, visited with local students, and hosted meetings with community organizations to generate strong support and hundreds of ideas to develope a community center and library unique to the South Burlington community. The team then created three options for the proposed civic center and presented them at a series of public meetings. Comments were gathered from those meetings resulting in a preferred option, which was then presented in a public forum and resulted in a strong consensus moving forward.
The first floor of the new City Center features a common lobby for a performance venue, Senior Center, Children’s Library, and an inviting fireplace for patrons to drink coffee and browse the current best in print. The second floor accessed by a grand staircase featuring a large overhead skylight leads patrons to the adult collections and teen library. A variety of sizes of meeting rooms and study rooms are available to patrons on a reservation basis.