A More Spacious Library is In the Works for Bonita Residents

The Lee County Library System just signed a $47,750 contract with Providence Associates, according to this article from the Fort Myers News-Press, to develop a building program for a new Bonita Springs library.

“This becomes the document that the architect uses to design the space,” said Lee Library Director Sheldon Kaye.

He said the library will be about twice the size of the 12,000-square-foot library at 26876 Pine Ave. built in 1983 and last renovated in 1991.

The Lee County commission raised the library tax rate from 35 cents to 59 cents per $1,000 of taxable value for the fiscal year, according to the News-Press article, expecting to raise $25 million over 10 years to be split halfway for new libraries in Bonita and North Fort Myers.

“What they’ll probably do is develop a set of criteria by which one can evaluate the desirability of a location and then they’ll help us identify a number of places that will meet those criteria,” Kaye said.

He anticipates the process will take six months.