A replacement for the East Cobb Library branch at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center is being proposed in the initial project list for an extension of the current Cobb Special Purpose-Local Option Sales Tax.
According to the project list for the proposed 2028 SPLOST (you can read it here), which was submitted by county government department heads, Cobb library officials want to construct a new facility at a cost of $25 million.
The East Cobb Library branch, which has been at Parkaire since 2010, is the only branch in the system that leases space. Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said the county spends $360,000 a year in rental fees for the East Cobb Library.
Cobb officials next week will begin public meetings on the proposed 2028 SPLOST, which would have to be approved by voters in a referendum in November. The first of those meetings is next Thursday at the Tim D. Lee Senior Center in East Cobb.
In response to a request for information from East Cobb News, Cavitt said Wednesday that the county wants to relocate the East Cobb Library to “a freestanding facility on county property” and vastly expand the space for what’s become the second-largest circulating library in the system.
He said a new location is still undetermined, but that the county is looking at several options.
Cavitt said that the 20-year lease at the Parkaire space ends in July 2029, and that “costs related to the lease of this space have increased exponentially throughout the span of the lease.”
Eight years ago, the rent was $263,000 a year, and was one of the reasons cited by Commissioner JoAnn Birrell in 2017 in recommending the branch be closed due to county budget cuts.
Parkaire Landing is managed by Jamestown LP, a commercial real estate management company that also operates Avenue East Cobb, Colony Square, Avalon and Ponce City Market.
The East Cobb Library has 17,000 square feet of space, and includes study and meeting rooms as well as a community meeting space. Cavitt said the plans are to expand that space.
“To better serve the community today and into the future, a new facility is needed. To meet the needs of future growth, this permanent facility is proposed at 28,000 square feet.”
The East Cobb Library had more than 132,000 patron visits in 2024, trailing only the main Switzer branch in Marietta.
“It’s one of our more popular locations,” Cavitt said of the East Cobb Library. “Those who use it are very passionate about it.”
Public outcry surfaced quickly after Birrell’s proposal to close the branch, and then-Commissioner Bob Ott vowed that wouldn’t happen.
The East Cobb Library formerly was located in the Merchant’s Walk Shopping Center, and opened near what is now the Seed restaurant in 1979.
The Merchant’s Walk redevelopment company paid the county to relocate the library to Parkaire; high land prices were cited at the time for leasing space for the East Cobb Library instead of building anew.
The 2028 SPLOST would continue the one-percent sales tax collections for a variety of projects, including roads and transportation, public safety facilities, parks and libraries upgrades and maintenance and more.
Cobb commissioners would have to vote to call for a referendum, and Cavitt said that such a vote could come as early as April.
That’s when county officials and leaders from Cobb’s seven cities will have to finalize their project lists.
The public meetings that continue through March 10 also will help finalize the project list. Another such meeting in the East Cobb area will be Jan. 29 at the Fullers Recreation Center.
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