After several delays, a project to build a new branch for the Laurel Library is set to break ground this spring, according to a library official.
Blane Halliday, the area manager for the Laurel, Beltsville, Greenbelt and Bowie branches of the Prince George's County public library system, said Tuesday the project was likely to get off the ground with an official groundbreaking in late March or early April.
The new library, a 32,000-square foot modern-looking building with walls of stone and glass and a slanted roof over the grand entrance, as shown in renderings, will replace the current library structure next to Emancipation Community Park on Seventh Street. The old branch, which was built in 1965, is still standing and has to be treated for asbestos before demolition, Prince George's County Office of Central Services director Floyd Holt said last fall.
The $14 million project has faced a series of delays since it was announced. On the books since 2005, it was initially scheduled to break ground in October 2013. A year later, officials announced construction would start in November 2014.
Progress was hampered in part by difficulties with choosing a contractor, Prince George's County Councilwoman Mary Lehman, who represents Laurel, said last fall.
The project had to be re-bid after county officials realized a request for proposals hadn't included information about a recent county law that prioritizes union labor when possible.
Lehman could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
Halliday said the project would take 18 months to complete after the old library branch is demolished, which would set the new branch's opening date for winter 2016.
Since the old library closed in March 2013, the Laurel Library branch has been operating out of a temporary space on Sandy Spring Road.
Finally, signs of progress have appeared: Halliday said construction crews moved two trailers onto the library site last week.
"I think once the weather breaks and spring actually gets here, the actual demolition will begin in earnest and we'll be moving a lot quicker from there," he said.