Beachwood residents will get their first public look Tuesday night at conceptual plans for a new Cuyahoga County Public Library branch that would replace the system's 1982-era building with a much larger facility featuring a 300-seat auditorium and an innovation center. The presentation is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Beachwood City Hall, located at 25325 Fairmount Boulevard, where officials will walk residents through a proposed site plan and discuss the partnership behind the project.
According to Cleveland.com, the new branch would relocate to a larger site near Beachwood's civic and recreational center, connecting nearby civic and park spaces. Cuyahoga County Public Library is partnering with the Beachwood City School District and the City of Beachwood on the project, and the new building would sit at 24601 Fairmount Boulevard, according to the Beachwood Buzz.
The library, school district and city announced an agreement in the spring that cleared the way for development of the new branch, though the outlet's report notes that project designs, shared-service arrangements and financial agreements have not yet been finalized. Once the new facility opens, ownership of the current Beachwood branch building would eventually transfer to the Beachwood City School District Board of Education, per the same account.
A Much Bigger Building With New Amenities
The proposed facility would be considerably larger than the current Beachwood branch at 25501 Shaker Boulevard, which opened on October 31, 1982, as the first branch in the county library system equipped with an automated circulation system, according to Cuyahoga County Public Library.
The new 20,000-square-foot project carries an estimated cost of $22 million to $24 million and is designed to include the 300-seat auditorium, an innovation center and expanded children's play areas, according to a report cited by reporting on the county's grant announcement. Cleveland.com's report adds that the auditorium would be available for community rentals and could host larger events on Cleveland's east side. The proposed branch would include an innovation center.
Design Team And Community Input
Cleveland-based CBLH Design, described as an architecture, planning and interior design firm, is leading the project's design, with Group 4 Architecture assisting, per Cleveland.com. The Beachwood project is part of the library system's 2023 through 2032 Facilities Master Plan, which aims to modernize library facilities and adapt them to changing community needs, per Cleveland.com's reporting.
A 2024 community listening effort gathered resident feedback that shaped the concept, with Beachwood residents requesting a warmer and more welcoming building, stronger indoor-outdoor connections, expanded study and meeting spaces, and more opportunities for technology, gaming and creative programming, according to the outlet. The county library system operates branches in Cuyahoga County.
The Library's Fairmount Boulevard Site
The planned library relocation would put the new branch on Fairmount Boulevard.
The planned library relocation would put the new branch on Fairmount Boulevard. Construction has begun, and the new Beachwood library project is expected to be completed by early 2028, per Cleveland.com, with several key financial and operational details still being worked out.
