Arlington library to close as city finishes ’first-of-its-kind’ community center
Library patrons in east Arlington must find a different branch to exchange books or use public computers as officials move services down the street to a new combined library and recreation center.
East Arlington Library staff will discontinue book dropoff, pickup and reservation services and public computer access starting Oct. 1. The George W. Hawkes Downtown Library, which has offered only curbside item pickup during the last several months because of coronavirus, will reopen for public computer access, printing and faxing the same day, according to Ivonne Kieffer, library administrator.
The branch will reopen in November at 1817 New York Ave. as part of a 47,000-square-foot shared community center with amenities including a courtyard, fitness spaces, meeting rooms and a swimming pool. The recreation facility will replace the Hugh Smith Recreation Center in Bob Cooke Park.
Lemuel Randolph, director of parks and recreation, said the new building will be a “first-of-its-kind” facility for the city, where people will have increased internet connectivity. Through a $750,000 state grant, the building will include a space where people can rent devices including laptops and conduct video calls.
“That area of town is one of the lowest areas in the city as far as connectivity to data,” Randolph said.
The center is one of two included in a bond voters approved in 2014. The other, the Beacon Recreation Center, opened in mid-September at 1100 Mansfield Webb Road.
Both the Beacon and East Library and Recreation Center are opening during a time when people are turning to parks for gathering places and entertainment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on the amount of trash collected from the parks and facilities, Randolph said, the city’s public spaces have seen more traffic in the last few months. Park employees empty full garbage cans once a day in some spots where cans previously filled up every two weeks, he said.
“There are not a lot of options that folks have been able to use” for recreational purposes, Randolph said.
Residents, however, have anticipated the facilities for years. The Beacon is the first recreation center in southeast Arlington. Randolph said residents in public comment sessions wanted a distinguishable building.
“Arlington has a lot of topography, but southeast Arlington is relatively flat,” he said. “They wanted a landmark.”
The Hugh Smith Recreation Center was “long past its useful lifetime,” Randolph said. The east library branch was built in 1969 and was remodeled through bond funding in 2000, according to the library website.
Sue Phillips, president of neighborhood group East Arlington Renewal, said residents have outgrown the old library and center. After years of receiving project updates from the city — paired with the pandemic compelling people to outdoor spaces — Phillips said she’s looking forward to the new community gathering place.
“It’s going to be such a shot in the arm for the east Arlington community,” she said.
