Spokane Public Library to open bidding for Liberty Park Library, Hive projects

The Spokane Public Library will open bidding for construction of both the Liberty Park Library and The Hive on March 11.

Liberty Park Library is the working title for the new structure in the East Central neighborhood that will replace the library at 524 S. Stone St.

The Spokane Public Library hopes to break ground at 402 S. Pittsburg St. in May, said Amanda Donovan, Spokane Public Library spokeswoman.

The library will keep East Side Library open for the duration of construction, and is planning on the Liberty Park Library opening in spring 2021. Donovan said the new location will have floor-to-ceiling windows that will highlight the beauty of Liberty Park, as well as an enhanced children’s discovery area.

“If you’ve ever been at the East Side Library on storytime day, it can be very, very crowded,” Donovan said. “Right now, the children’s area is very small. The (new) library is nearly double the size of the East Side library. It’s going to have double the program room space.”

The Hive at Libby Center, a proposed project by Spokane Public Library and Spokane Public Schools that will bring a teacher-training facility, maker lab and gallery to the East Central Neighborhood, will be built on a vacant site at 2904 E. Sprague Ave.

The Hive is part of a project swap between the Spokane Public Library and Spokane Public Schools. The library district will build The Hive at Libby Center and, in exchange, the school district will build a new library at Shaw Middle School in Hillyard.