The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The Franklin Township Public Library has received a $1.3 million state grant for the construction of a new branch.
The grant is part of the state Library Construction Bond Act, according to a press release from the Library. Under terms of the Act, the Library Board must provide at least a 50 percent match to receive the money.
The Franklin Township Public Library will be able to meet this match from funds it designated for a new building some years ago, according to the release.
“We were thrilled to hear the good news from Governor Murphy,” Library Board president Nicholas Ciampa said in the release. “We are looking forward to building an accessible and technologically advanced library that will serve the community for years to come.”
The Board of Education last February agreed to sell a parcel of land near Franklin Park School to the Library Board for the Board’s new southern branch.
The Library Board plans to construct a 5,000-square-foot building to replace the rented space the library uses in the Franklin Towne Center on Route 27.
Construction on the new branch is expected to start early this year.
The library also plans to open a mini-branch in the new township Youth Center, now under construction on Lewis Street.
Franklin Township was one of 38 projects out of 129 applications that were reviewed by experts from state agencies that were recommended to receive funding, according to the release.
