The 39,000-square-foot building is expected to be completed by the end of December, Pearland Assistant City Manager Trent Epperson said. Once the facility is built, the county will begin delivering furniture, books and all other materials that will be in the library starting in January. The city is planning for the facility to open by late spring 2022, he added.
“It’s a once-in-a-generation building,” Pearland Communications Director Joshua Lee said.
The new West Pearland Library will offer a 100-seat teaching theater, multipurpose community rooms, private study rooms and outdoor spaces, Epperson said.
The library will also house the Brazoria County satellite tax office, which will be moved from the city’s public safety building at 2555 Cullen Blvd., Pearland, Epperson said. Moving the tax office will provide better access for Pearland residents on the west side of town, he added.
The $21.89 million building, according to the city’s website, is being funded through the Shadow Creek Ranch Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which collects tax revenue depending on the tax rate of the Shadow Creek Ranch development.
The city of Pearland will own and maintain the building; however, Brazoria County will be providing all the amenities, such as the books and technology inside of the facility, as well as paying librarians and facility workers, Epperson said.
Once the West Pearland Library is completed, the Pearland Westside Library at 2803 Business Center Drive, Ste. 101, Pearland, will close, Epperson said.
Pearland and Brazoria County planned for the Business Center Drive location, which has been in the H-E-B shopping center since 2012, to be temporary, he added. The staff working at the Westside branch will continue to do so at the new location, said Lisa Loranc, the director of the Brazoria County Library System.
The new West Pearland Library will be able to meet the demands for Pearland’s population, which according to a study done by the Houston-Galveston Area Council, a regional organization, in 2018, is expected to grow by another 25,000 to 30,000 residents by 2040.
“It’s going to be an exceptional asset for the community,” Epperson said of the new library.
