While no further commitment is required by the city at this time, city staff are recommending the final location of the library be considered. The new library is tentatively set for The Backyard development, a new multi-use development area projected to open in 2024 west of Bee Cave Central Park.
Bee Cave Mayor Kara King said she was excited about the proposals for the new library.
“When I got on council nine years ago, our library was too small. So this is a long time coming,” she said.
Bee Cave City Manager Clint Garza said the city had already received proposals from different firms wanting to do construction and expects to get some for architecture soon as well.
More development plans will likely not be available for library planning until January.
As of March 2021, Bee Cave’s population is approximately 8,879 within city limits, according to city documents. That number is estimated to be 15,000 by 2038. A new public library will be required to handle the department's current needs and growth well into the future, according to the city.
The new public library will be an approximately 24,000 square-feet three-story building. New amenities will include offices for administrative use, a separate work area for technical services, checkout desks on both floors, reference desks on both floors, floor and shelf space for over 45,000 books and laptop docking work stations.
There will also be family restrooms on all floors, public access meeting rooms, a large public conference room, outdoor and indoor book returns, a family play area and reading room, a separate teen program area, a quiet reading room, individual study rooms, usable outdoor spaces for reading or working and a unique play feature for children.
