Plans in the works for new library and administration building in downtown Celina

Celina has its sights on the next phase of creating a “destination downtown.” 

Plans are in the works to someday tear down the current city hall located at 142 North Ohio St. and to build a new building that will host a library and temporarily host administrative offices. The change would make way for an expanded and enhanced downtown square, according to a presentation by Assistant City Manager Kimberly Brawner. The downtown square currently hosts some of the city’s biggest events. 

Since establishing a Downtown Master Plan in 2019, work has evolved downtown, including by kicking off construction on a one-way inner loop project and on a patio plaza project. Future plans also include adding more downtown areas for children to play in and putting in a special event lawn with hopes to include a permanent stage. 

For now, the next step is to begin planning for the library and administration building, which would be located next to the current City Council chambers at 112 North Colorado St. 

The multi-story building is eventually slated to host the downtown library at all levels but will include administration offices on upper levels as part of its initial phasing for a number of years. At opening, the library would occupy the first floor. A larger city hall is expected to be placed in front of Beech Street in the far future.  

“This is not the ultimate city hall,” Brawner said. “This is where we’re going to park ourselves for 10, 15 years until the population gets big enough to support the large city hall of a city of 400,000 people.” 

Brawner said the goal is to provide a historical feel with the library/administration building.

“We wanted it to look like it had been here for 100 years,” she said. 

Current concept designs include providing a facade that would make the facility appear to be made up of multiple historic buildings. 

The presentation emphasized allowing for activation into the evening after city hall closes. That includes ideas like providing potential incubator space for small businesses and a potential rooftop component that could include food and places to sit. 

“The goal is to keep it active after 5 o’clock,” she said. 

Plans also currently include a four-story parking garage that would house about 300 cars.  

Tuesday’s presentation served as a chance to update city officials. Brawner said next steps would include selecting an architect and beginning a public involvement process that will include an open forum. The timeline will also include a master planning process and meeting with city staff to understand needs for the facility. 

The planning process will take roughly eight to nine months, Brawner said, followed by design and then construction. Brawner said the building would likely not come online before 2026. 

“This is a big project,” Brawner said “Celina’s the place to be, and we’re going to take advantage of it and get the best architect firm we can that can help us build that vision.”

See more renderings of the project here: