Oct. 7, 2024 – The Cedar Rapids Public Library invites community members to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Westside Library on Friday, Oct. 18, at 10 am. A brief presentation will take place on the site of the new library project, located between Edgewood Rd SW and 20th Avenue SW, behind the Aldi grocery store. 

“We’re so excited to reach this milestone,” Library Director Dara Schmidt said. “The Westside Library will be a community hub for one of the fastest growing parts of Cedar Rapids, and we can’t wait to see this investment in our city’s future come to fruition.” 

The Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation Department will build a city park adjacent to the Westside Library, creating a new library and park campus. The land will include a new road, which will be named Sandberg Lane in honor of the late Nadine E. Sandberg, whose estate gift of nearly $2 million to the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation in 2020 was used to purchase the property. 

The library project will cost less than $25 million. The City of Cedar Rapids has allocated $6 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and the Linn County Board of Supervisors has allocated $4 million in ARPA funds. The Sandberg gift of $2 million to the Library Foundation was used to purchase the land, and additional funds have come in from private and corporate gifts and grants to the Foundation’s Inspiring Big Dreams campaign. 

The Foundation’s Inspiring Big Dreams capital campaign is ongoing. The groundbreaking is one more step towards the anticipated grand opening in late fall of 2026. 

“Our community has been incredibly generous in funding this campaign and making our big dreams possible,” said Library Foundation Executive Director Charity Tyler. “We are excited to continue growing this dream as we break ground and begin to build.” 

The program will be brief, and a limited number of chairs will be available. Parking will be on-site – please see the map below. People are encouraged to follow signs at the site.