Town officials are looking at a potential November bond to build a new facility in the coming years to better meet the needs of its rapidly growing town, Prosper Town Manager Mario Canizares said. A bond committee was created earlier this year to evaluate how to move forward.
Town staff implemented the 2025 Library Master Plan earlier this year, and it showed Prosper’s current library, which was built in 2018, is falling short for the growing town. Nearly a quarter of the town’s population are active library card holders.
Since the library opened, Prosper’s population has grown over 90% to more than 42,000 residents.
“The library is a beloved community hub, but it was built in a whole other era seven years ago,” Library Services Director Gary Landeck said. “The town has grown a lot since then.”
The overview
The Library Master Plan, which the Town Council approved in March, outlines a strategic vision for the library’s evolution by addressing the town’s rapid community growth, the current facility’s offerings and any future demands, according to the plan. The town is projected to have 72,000 residents at build out in 20-to-25 years.
The library is currently housed in Town Hall, where it has 10,000 square feet. Officials always knew the location would be temporary and it would eventually be taken over by town staff, Canizares said.
“We knew that what we were moving into at the time was bigger and better, but it wasn’t forever,” he said.
The details
The Town’s Bond Committee will review several areas of need this summer including roads, parks and recreation and the library with each of those areas being its own potential proposition.
A new library is projected to range from $35 million to $70 million, Landeck said. That total includes the new facility and books, but it does not include staffing. Staffing needs will be addressed through the town’s annual budget, as needed.
The goal for the potential new library is to create a space that would be sustainable and useful for Prosper 30 years into the future, Landeck said.
“For many Prosper residents, the library is the single most common point of contact with the town,” Library Board member Danielle Philipson said during a March council meeting. “We need to be sure that the Town Council’s vision of excellence in municipal services continues to be executed and that the physical expression of that vision meets high public expectations.”
Keep in mind
The library’s existing collection consists of physical and electronic books, with adults favoring the e-book options, Landeck said.
The library also offers free space for community meetings. If a new space were approved, the library could eventually act as an event venue, Canizares said.
“It’s more than books, it’s a community gathering space,” he said.
With or without a bond, Landeck wants to look at expanding the library’s hours of operations to eventually be open seven days a week, Landeck said.
If the bond is not placed on the ballot or it fails, the town will look at doing extra days of programs and minor renovations of the existing space to optimize it, Landeck said.
“Libraries are really good at that—we can be really creative on shoestrings,” he said.
Also of note
Children’s programming is a large part of what the library offers, Landeck said.
The library offered more than 600 programs total last year, which is about a 50% increase from the previous year. Currently only about 45 people can fit in the existing space, he said.
Of those offerings, a majority are geared toward children younger than 12 years old.
A goal of Landeck is to expand the library’s offerings across all demographics.
For the future facility, Landeck wants to create an immersive space for the community, including a sensory area for children with special needs.
“We can only get so many people in that space, so we’re having to offer multiple sessions for that more frequently,” Landeck said. “We don’t want to jam people in there like sardines.”
Looking ahead
The Bond Committee will review its bond options for the town before making a recommendation to Town Council.
“With the growth, there’s always going to be needs for additional space, additional facilities and that’s what we are trying to do,” Canizares said.
- March 11: Town Council approved Library Master Plan
- Summer 2025: Bond Committee review potential bond items
- June/July: Bond Committee make recommendations to the council
- Aug. 18: deadline to place bond on the ballot
- Nov. 4: Election Day
- 2028-29: If approved, new library could open
