Warwick Grove officially donates land for new library
Warwick Leyland Alliance officially transferred the deed to a 2.2 acre parcel of land on McFarland Drive to the Albert Wisner Public Library on Monday. Leyland, the developers of Warwick Grove, a new 215-home development for those 55 and over located behind Memorial Park, is a traditional neighborhood design. The land has been earmarked as the site of a new proposed library since 2003. The original 5,000-square-foot library building, located on the corner of Main Street and Colonial Avenue, was constructed in 1927 and was intended to serve a population of 2,300 with no parking. Since then, the population of the area has grown more than ten-fold. The new site would include room for a much larger library as well as ample parking. “The time for a new library in Warwick is now, and we are grateful for LeylandAlliance’s help in achieving this important goal,” said Donna Applegate, president of the Albert Wisner Public Library’s Board of Trustees. Added Rosemary Cooper, the library’s director: “With the land donation and the architects’ concepts in place, we’re looking forward to finalizing the plans and budget and setting a date for a referendum on funding for the project.” The library will be funded by public money. When the library Board of Trustees presented its vision for a new library nearly two years ago, it called for a 27,000-square-foot library costing between $7.5 million and $8.5 million. They went back to the drawing board on it earlier this year to retool the plan because of rising construction costs. Before going ahead with the building of a new library, a referendum will be held for all voters within the Warwick Valley School District. “We’re extremely pleased for the opportunity to give something back to the Warwick community,” said Louis Marquet, executive vice president for LeylandAlliance and a Warwick resident. “One hundred years ago, civic buildings such as libraries were traditionally the most important buildings in a neighborhood. The significant growth of this region has not been matched in kind by the services, facilities, and materials of the existing library. The planned expansion into a new, improved building represents a great civic gesture that will benefit all the citizens of Warwick and beyond.”