Ground Breaking for New High Prairie Branch Library

Pikes Peak Library District will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the High Prairie Branch Library on Thursday, November 12 at 11:30 a.m. at 7035 Old Meridian Road in Falcon. The public is welcome to attend, and non-perishable food items for Care and Share will be collected at this event.

The new library is expected to be complete next summer. It is the first PPLD library to be built east of the Powers Boulevard corridor, and would serve residents of Black Forest, Calhan, Peyton, Falcon, Rush, Ellicott, Yoder and other northeast El Paso County communities.

The High Prairie Branch will be located next to the Farmers State Bank, at the corner of Colorado Highway 24 and Meridian Road. Farmers State Bank donated the land to the library district.

The new library is expected to be 6,000 square feet, and will later expand to accommodate the community’s growing needs. PPLD has identified this community as a priority because there is an increasing demand for library services among the growing Falcon population.

The library district is working to incorporate “green” features in the new library, including: geothermal heating and cooling; Colorado timber from pines damaged by pine beetles; maximized natural lighting; low-flush toilets; occupancy sensors on lights; carpet, furniture, and countertops from recycled materials, and xeriscaping. GH Phipps is the contractor selected for the project.

The facility will hold a collection of about 14,000 items, focusing primarily on popular materials and children’s items due to the limited space, and will have a community meeting room for special events, programs and community meetings.

The PPLD Foundation is working to fund furniture, fixtures, and equipment. Local families and businesses are being asked to donate funds toward the project and will receive recognition on various items within the branch. Total cost of the project is an estimated $3.3 million.

Earlier this year, Pikes Peak Library District received a $500,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs toward the completion of the branch. Other major contributions for the project include $784,428 from the Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Grants, the Farmers State Bank gift of land, and major gifts from the Mountain View Electric Cooperative’s Round Up Fund and the Boettcher Foundation.

The region is currently served by PPLD’s county mobile library, which reaches eight communities on the eastern plains of the county through 12 stops. In 2008 the mobile library services circulated more than 255,000 items.