Library across from Wheatfield to break ground next winter

Menifee 24/7 photo

By Doug Spoon, Editor

A vacant lot most known for serving as an overflow parking lot during Wheatfield Park events will become the site of a Riverside County library serving Menifee residents.

The County Board of Supervisors on April 30 approved a proposal for financing the construction of libraries in Menifee, French Valley and Desert Hot Springs.

“The new library facility will be delivered to the County through the P3 Project deal structure, specifically through a ground lease and facilities lease,” wrote Suzanne Holland, assistant director for the Riverside County Economic Development Agency, in an email to Menifee 24/7. “The financing for the project will be provided through a privately issued lease revenue tax exempt bond structure.”

The funds are not coming from the City of Menifee budget.

A sign announcing the plan for the new Menifee library was recently posted at the corner of La Piedra Road and Menifee Road. According to Holland, estimated date of groundbreaking is early winter 2020.

The library will include approximately 20,000 square feet of space. Areas will include adult, teen, and children areas, group study/quiet rooms, marketplace and an opportunity room and community room, along with staff workrooms and library branch offices, Holland said.

The parcel, owned by the County, is a dirt lot that has been used in the past to park cars for those attending events at Wheatfield Park. That lot was closed off during the recent Independence Day celebration because of the impending plans, however.

Holland explained the decision to add a second library to Menifee. The Sun City Library, which recently underwent a major renovation at its location in the Cherry Hills Plaza, is one of the busiest libraries in the county system, according to officials.

“The Sun City Library in Menifee is the third highest used branch in the system, serving over 227,000 patrons a year and standing at 10,000 square feet,” Holland wrote. “A new era of library service has emerged, creating more value for the users while offering what they need -- a wide range of information. As a public investment advocating lifelong learning, this new library building will support a broad and diverse range of 21st Century library services, programs, and technology.”

County Supervisor Chuck Washington, who introduced the proposal, defended the need for additional libraries, even in this age of digital materials and advanced technology.

“Some people have told me that libraries are a thing of the past. We have the Internet now,” Washington told City News Service. “Well, we know the internet offers us information, and some not very positive things, too. But libraries always seem to be very positive places.”