Cedar Park’s new public library at the Bell District is under construction and expected to open to the public this fall, officials said.

Library Director Julia Mitschke said the new building—located at 425 Parkwest Drive, Cedar Park—will span 47,000 square feet, which is nearly twice as large as the current library at 25,500 square feet.

Intended to be a civic gathering space, the new facility will feature a courtyard space surrounded by dozens of large heritage trees with a fenced-in children's area, gathering spaces, group study rooms, an event space, an interior youth area, a teen area, two porches and a playground.

During a tour of the construction site, Mitschke provided Community Impact more information on the progress of the facility.
The library is the first of series of developments coming to the Bell District, which will eventually include a backyard space, restaurants, retail, multifamily housing and parking garages. (Zacharia Washington/Community Impact)
The main lobby, which allows in natural light through large windows, will feature a check-in desk, cushioned seating, stairs and elevators, and entrances to the youth area and courtyard. (Claire Shoop/Community Impact)
Mitschke said this space will serve as the youth area, which is twice the size of the space at the current library. One of the black columns in this space will feature a two-story tree house with stairs to climb up and a slide to go down. The ceiling in this space is intended to absorb sound, Mitschke said, as the area can occasionally get loud. (Zacharia Washington/Community Impact)
The enclosed children's courtyard will be accessed through the interior youth area, Mitschke said. She said with the enclosure being adjacent to Bell Park, it is sealed off so that families can allow their kids to read outside or play without worrying about them running off into the park. The enclosure will feature three parts: a free space to run around, a tree-covered area for quiet reading and a playground with two small, climbable mockingbird structures. (Claire Shoop/Community Impact)
This hallway will feature a few of the eight total group study rooms scattered throughout the building. Mitschke said there’s only one in the current library, and it is always booked. It also has two maker spaces—one for arts and crafts and the other for technology. A maker space is a space where people can do hands-on projects to create, explore and experiment with different concepts and materials, Mitschke said. There will be a larger event space, which can be rented out for meetings and receptions, with a capacity to seat up to 160 people. (Zacharia Washington/Community Impact)
Located on the second floor, this space will include the Library of Things, which includes useful tools and items available for checkout. A Library of Things can include items such as metal detectors, portable projectors, sewing machines and graphing calculators. (Zacharia Washington/Community Impact)