An exact opening date for Powell River Public Library’s new location remains elusive, despite progress made inside the building.
Work on the structure at Crossroads Village Shopping Centre on Alberni Street has been ongoing since the middle of last November.
According to general contractor Futurevest Investment Corporation’s co-owner Fred Formosa, interior electrical, mechanical and plumbing installation is roughed in and drywall is being completed.
“Everything is going really well right now,” he said.
Formosa said he is unable to provide a schedule for completion until a Courtenay-based structural-steel subcontractor completes work on the front entrance of the building.
Completion of the building could happen sometime between the end of April and the end of May, he added.
Chief librarian Terry Noreault said he is impressed with work he has seen up to now.
“It’s starting to look pretty good there,” said Noreault. “The project is progressing well.”
Steel for the building will be brought over prefabricated. Workers will lift it with a crane and weld and bolt the structure into place. That work is expected to start mid-February, said Formosa.
Once complete, focus will turn to the building’s exterior and finishing rockwork to give it a modern, West Coast look.
Futurevest recently placed a sign in front of the job site noting all the local subcontractor firms it has hired for the project.
Formosa explained that once structural work is complete and the roof is on that part of the building, the rest of the project can be scheduled and a final completion date will be known.
Even before that though, Noreault said carpet would be installed inside the building, furniture put together and 103 bookshelves secured to the concrete floor.
Once the library building is ready, Noreault said he expects the current library location below city hall to close for two weeks to complete the move into the new space.
“It’s starting to look like May is a possibility,” he said, “but until we get a firm schedule, I can’t schedule the other things the library needs to do.”
