The Friends of Duck Creek Regional Library break ground on a new library in downtown Smyrna.
The project, which has been 15 years in the making, held a ceremonial groundbreaking at the library site facing South Street in the parking lot behind the Smyrna post office.
The Friends of Duck Creek Regional Library want the architecture to blend with the styles in the historic downtown area and become a main attraction.
Kay Wheatley is a consultant for the library.
"It'll be approximately 22,000 square ft, just over that, the cost is around 18 million which is close to fully funded. We still have a little more but not a lot, and it serves the whole community. Libraries are one of the few institutions that don't have barriers," said Wheatley.
Gov. John Carney says Washington and Dover teamed up to help aid the project.
"Thank your Congressional Delegation for the ARPA funding and the President of the United States. They made almost 8 million dollars available for this project,” said Carney. “The state, the legislators I just talked to, made another close to 10 million available for this project, and another million plus were raised privately."
The Kent County Levy Court also created special library tax districts which helped with funding.
And Friends of Duck Creek Regional Library president Kathy Messer says the library will be in a prime spot to be a community resource
"We have three elementary schools that are ready to come, over 1600 children that can walk to this library when it's completed. This is one happy day for Smyrna," said Messer.
Construction is set to start next month with the goal of opening in the library in December 2024.
