S.D. Library Breaks Ground

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders led a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for the city’s $185 million central library replacement project.

The project is a necessary investment in the city’s future, and will not require the government to tap its strained general fund, the mayor said.

“Our work will pay dividends for future generations of San Diegans,” he said.

Funding sources for the project include $80 million in city redevelopment funds, secured largely by tax-increment bonds, and a $20 million grant from a California general obligation bond voters approved in 2003.

The project also received $20 million from the San Diego Unified School District, which will use two floors for a charter school, and is counting on $63 million in private donations, of which more than $30 million has been raised, according to the mayor’s office.

The nine-story building is scheduled to open in 2013.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER