Site approved for Palm Springs library to relocate temporarily during major renovation

The Palm Springs City Council approved a three-year lease agreement Wednesday night that will move the city’s main library to a temporary location while the current facility undergoes an extensive renovation project.

Library Director Jeannie Kays said the library will relocate to a space in the Vons Shopping Center, located in the southern part of Palm Springs, under a lease with Pacific Castle Rimrock. The move is necessary to accommodate an 18-month construction timeline for renovating the library’s current central location.

“Through extensive research and with partnership with our real estate brokers, this has turned into the best, most logical location that we have found in the city,” Kays said.

The library plans to conclude its summer reading program on July 18 and hold a grand finale party on July 19. If construction bids are awarded as scheduled, the library hopes to move to its temporary location and reopen by Aug. 1, Kays said.

The relocation presents logistical challenges since the current library sits in a central city location while the temporary site is at the furthest southern point in Palm Springs. To maintain services across the city, library staff will expand programming at the Welwood Murray Memorial Library downtown and partner with community organizations including Mizell Center, The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, and more.

“We want to do even more and have routine scheduled stops, kind of like a bookmobile stop without the actual vehicle,” Kays said. “So, we would bring library services to our community centers.”

The temporary library will retain all essential services including passport acceptance, programming, book checkout, library card issuance, computers and WiFi access. The facility will continue operating as a cooling center, with residents welcome during all operating hours.

Kays acknowledged the difficulty of securing short-term commercial real estate, noting that business owners would not negotiate leases shorter than three years even for the temporary arrangement.

The library renovation project has an estimated cost of $42.5 million and received a $6.5 million grant in fiscal year 2023. City engineering staff is currently reviewing construction bids, with a recommendation expected at the July 9 City Council meeting.

To help residents navigate the transition, the library will maintain information displays at the current location with QR codes and countdown charts. The library is also working with the Organized Neighborhoods of Palm Springs (ONE-PS) to offer neighborhood tours showing the current facility and renovation plans.

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