The 1960s building that houses Bountiful's branch of the Davis County Library won't be torn down after all. It's getting a top-to-bottom renovation that will reshape the site at 725 S. Main St. with a new pedestrian crosswalk, a public plaza, a drive-thru drop-off lane and expanded parking.

The Bountiful Planning Commission reviewed the final architectural and site plan for the project at its Tuesday, Aug. 4 meeting, according to a staff report prepared by Senior Planner Amber Corbridge. Staff recommended forwarding a positive recommendation to the City Council, which is scheduled to vote on the plan Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 795 S. Main St.

What's changing outside

The biggest visible change: the vehicular entrance off Main Street is being eliminated.

City Engineer Lloyd Cheney told the council in April that removing it will allow more parking in front of the library and improve pedestrian safety. In its place, a striped crosswalk will connect the library to adjacent Bountiful City property, and a new drive-thru aisle will let patrons drop off and pick up materials without parking.

The city and Davis County completed a land swap in April, with the council voting unanimously on April 28 to exchange two parcels of roughly 5,500 square feet each on either side of the library lot. That swap made room for the redesigned parking layout and plaza space.

Landscape plans by PKJ Design Group include a Mill Creek restoration area with native plantings, pedestrian pathways, gathering spaces and garden areas. The city and county are also coordinating a potential trail connection between the library grounds and the Mill Creek stream corridor.

What's changing inside

The renovation goes down to the studs.

A 2021 feasibility study by Utah-based firm Modern Out West found that essentially all of the building's systems had surpassed their life expectancy. The project includes seismic upgrades, a new roof, new plumbing, heating and electrical systems, and an upgraded building envelope created by furring out the existing brick walls.

Interior spaces are being reimagined with an adult lounge, study lounge, children's area and young adult section. A former theater space described in the architect's narrative as "a three-sided open room that couldn't quite decide what it was" becomes a multipurpose performance room. New enlarged glazing and doors will bring natural light deep into the building.

The design team wrote in the Planning Commission packet: "The most sustainable building is the one you don't tear down."

How it got here

Davis County funded the work through a 2017 tax increase supporting plans to remodel or rebuild several library locations across the system. The original plan called for demolition, but the design team made the case for adaptive reuse, and the county agreed.

Davis County Library Director Josh Johnson told ABC4 in late January, the day before the branch closed for construction: "We are going to renovate it so that it can serve the public for another 50 years."

The library closed Jan. 26. A temporary branch at 85 N. Main St. in Bountiful is serving patrons during the estimated 18-month construction period.

What's next

The City Council votes on the site plan Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The library is expected to reopen in mid to late 2027.