Library moves to shopping mall due to renovations at Brampton sportsplex
Published October 15, 2024 at 12:39 pm
The South Fletcher’s Library has a new, temporary home located in a shopping mall in Brampton.
Renovation work is underway at the Susan Fennell Sportsplex in Brampton, closing portions of the centre and the adjacent spaces on the first floor to for facility upgrades and a new Youth Hub to promote creativity and collaboration.
But the renovations have also led to the relocation of the Brampton Library Branch that shared the facility.
The South Fletcher’s Library has been temporarily moved to the Shoppers World retail mall on Main Street South while the work is underway. The closure is expected to last some 16 months with a target of reopening in the fall of 2025, the library says.
The library hasn’t seen a renovation since it first opened back in 1996 and “no longer provides the amenities the community needs,” the library says.
Once completed, the new branch will feature new furniture and decor, separate spaces for programming, quiet study areas, and allow for after-hours programming and after-hours study use.
RELATED: Brampton sports centre set for major renovations to reduce carbon footprint
While the temporary branch near the Winners store and Anderson College is physically smaller and has a more limited selection of books and other materials, the new South Fletcher’s Shoppers World location still offers Wi-Fi and computer stations.
Holds and reservations can be picked up at the temporary location, which is also able to process returns.
Printing and copying services are not available at the temporary branch and Library Settlement Partnership services are now relocated to the Cyril Clark Branch for the time being.
The library move follows the temporary relocation of the Chinguacousy Library branch to the Chinguacousy ski hill last year. That branch had to be moved after a controversial decision by Brampton City Council to make way for the new Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine.
Council gifted the $48-million building and most of the surrounding land to the school, evicting the library and spurring calls and petitions from the community to reverse the decision.
The new temporary South Fletcher’s Brampton Library Branch is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Key features of the Susan Fennell Sportsplex renovations include:
- Lighting control replacement
- Ground source heat loop installation
- Ice rink refrigeration upgrades
- Solar thermal system for pool heating
- Installation of solar panels on the roof
- Complete overhaul of HVAC systems
- Artificial Intelligence installation (JCI Open Blue Technology)