Better late than never, right?

This was the prevailing attitude at the Preston Royal Branch Library’s community meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 22. The meeting was convened for the City to share the process and timeline of the library’s upcoming renovation.

Photo courtesy of Preston Royal Library Friends.

After an introduction from Dallas Public Library’s Interim Director Heather Lowe, Robert Van Buren — an architect with the Office of Bond & Construction Management — shared what the renovation process will likely look like:

  • March 2025: The Bond Program Office will issue a request for architectural proposals.
  • June 2025: Design contract will be awarded to an architectural firm, and the contract will be submitted for approval.
  • August 2025: The design process will begin, which will take around 10 months. Then, the architect will prepare a set of bid documents which will be used to request construction proposals.
  • September 2026: The construction contract will be awarded, and construction will begin within a couple of months.
  • October/November 2027: Projected opening of the renovated Preston Royal Branch Library.

The timeline came as a relief to neighbors, who have been left wondering about the library’s fate for almost two decades.

In 2006, voters approved a bond package which provided funds to purchase a plot of land at the corner of Forest Lane and Nuestra Drive. The land was intended to be the site of a new library to replace the Preston Royal Branch, which had been renovated only once in the mid-1980s since its 1964 opening.

The bond package, however, did not include funding for construction of the new library, and the project soon stalled.

The plot of land sat dormant for over a decade until City Council voted in 2021 to approve a zoning change at the request of Forest Park Development.

The land was sold, providing funds that were set aside for the library’s renovation. These funds were bolstered by the approval of the 2024 Bond Package, which set aside over $9 million for the project.

At the meeting, Van Buren said that while the project would maintain the building’s “original mid century splendor,” the renovation would not be a preservation project. The renovated library will include technology upgrades, more energy efficient mechanical systems, better lighting, accessibility upgrades and more.

Both Lowe and Van Buren stressed that there would be opportunities for community input throughout the renovation process.

Lowe said, “We want this building to reflect the love that is in this community for it, and we do believe that we’ll be able to really offer something amazing to the community.”