It is now 2010, and the outside shell of the future Plainsboro Library towers over the other buildings in Plainsboro’s Village Center, but the building’s doors are still closed to the public.
Scheduled opening date? Unknown.
“We’re making progress, but not as fast as we hoped,” said Township Administrator Robert Sheehan of the construction at the library. “We’re down to some of the interior finishes and safety amenities that need to get taken care of before we can get a temporary certificate of occupancy.”
And until the township obtains a temporary CO, not even library staff can begin setting up the library’s interior. “Once we the certificate, we’ll be able to complete the furniture move-in and begin to move in the staff,” Sheehan said.
In the meantime, shelving installation is just about finished. But “there has to be a certain level of safe access and egress before we can have the non-construction folks in an out of the building,” Sheehan added.
Among the tasks to be completed for issuance of the temporary CO is grading of the parking lot and sidewalks around the library — work that was further delayed by last month’s snowstorm, said Sheehan.
“At this point, I don’t have a specific date that we’re targeting,” said Sheehan.
Upon completion, the $12.4 million library will hold 125,000 volumes and provide informal reading areas, display space for art, quiet study rooms, 40 computer stations, a children’s section with an expanded science/computer center, a local history room, and community meeting rooms. In addition, it will feature a health education center and independent study rooms.