Local donors and the Library Foundation have pledged over $470,000 to “Complete the Block.” The block in question is Block 12, home of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. Situated between Monroe, Jackson, 6th Street, and 7th Street, the site is library-owned except for one piece.
On the remaining piece stands a law office whose owner has offered to give the library the first right to buy the property from his estate. The library would only have six months to act on the deal, though, and can’t count on the city for funding. The Library Foundation is collecting the money now so that in the event of the owner’s passing, it will be ready to make an offer on the property.
The campaign began in 2012 and is over 90 percent of the way to its goal of $525,000. Library Director Carolyn Rawles-Heiser said that all the support the library has received means a lot.
“We’ve just been super-grateful to the community for the support,” she said. “Hundreds of people have donated and it’s really heartwarming to see how much people support the library.”
So far, 285 donors have pledged half of the funds received. The other half comes from dollar-for-dollar matching by the Library Foundation.
The $525,000 goal is based on an approximation of the property’s market value and doesn’t include any money for construction. However, the library doesn’t have any specific plans for construction at this point.
“As far as expansion, we would go through a public process but that could be quite a ways down the road,” said Rawles-Heiser.
To help the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library “Complete the Block,” visit http://completetheblock.org.
by Lana Jones
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