Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Philadelphia City Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr. intends to move forward with a limited, approximately $2 million renovation plan for the Cecil B. Moore Library in North Philadelphia<\/a>, according to the city and library staff.<\/p>\n Young\u2019s renovation plan for the building at 2320 Cecil B. Moore Ave. includes a new accessible elevator and restrooms, and improvements to the building\u2019s HVAC, plumbing, fire-alarm system, lighting, and signage, according to city spokesperson Sharon Gallagher. Construction is expected to last roughly six months, she said. <\/p>\n The library building, first opened in 1962, will be closed during construction, and it is unclear whether the city and the Free Library of Philadelphia will operate a satellite branch for Cecil B. Moore during that time frame. The city is working with the Department of Parks and Recreation to temporarily relocate some of the library\u2019s resources and programming to the nearby MLK Recreation Center at 2101 Cecil B. Moore Ave., Gallagher said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are important. They\u2019re also very basic,\u201d said Kate Goodman, a Cecil B. Moore Library worker, at a community meeting and cookout at the library on Saturday afternoon to discuss the renovations. Goodman is a union member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 47.<\/p>\n It is unclear when exactly construction will begin. Library staff were informed earlier this month by the city\u2019s capital programs office that construction would begin in September, but Young\u2019s spokesperson, Yumeno Young, said the project would be pushed back to allow for additional preparation and community engagement. He declined to give a precise timeline for construction to begin.<\/p>\n Halted renovation history<\/p>\n Young\u2019s plan leaves about $8 million on the table, since roughly $10 million has been raised and allocated toward the renovation project over the last several years. A modest $1 million in renovations were originally scheduled to begin in October 2024 through the city\u2019s Rebuild initiative, but community members and lawmakers fought to secure a total of roughly $5.3 million for the project.<\/p>\n Rebuild developed a comprehensive renovation plan for the library, which community members and staff still support. It includes much of Young\u2019s limited plan, as well as a new teen space, a private study room, new flooring, exterior upgrades, additional computers, and more upgrades.<\/p>\n After Young came into office in 2024, replacing outgoing Council President Darrell L. Clarke, he secured an additional $5 million from the city\u2019s 2025 capital budget and delayed the project. Young used the city\u2019s longstanding custom of councilmanic prerogative, where Council members have near-unilateral control over which projects in their district go forward, to put his stamp on the plans.<\/p>\n Over the last few years, Young has pushed for several development proposals at the site and has resisted investing in the current space. Those alternative proposals have included demolishing the current building and constructing a new building with both a library and affordable housing on top, or moving the library<\/a> to a new building at 19th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue and converting the existing building into another public space.<\/p>\n Young and the city declined to comment on what will happen with the other roughly $8 million that has previously been raised for the library renovation project, or why the Council member has opted for this plan despite significant community pushback<\/a>. Young will host a community meeting sometime in September to provide more details on his plans, his spokesperson said.<\/p>\n