FOR SALE: ARDEN HILLS LIBRARY; NEEDS UPDATES
Just a few weeks after closing the Arden Hills library, Ramsey County has put the building up for sale.
The county built the one-story, 8,200-square-foot building in 1969. Although it served residents for decades, the building, at 1941 W. County Road E2, has not aged well.
Rather than pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for renovations, the county decided last fall to close the branch and move the 50,000-item collection to the New Brighton Family Service Center.
The Arden Hills building closed for good on Dec. 31. The new location in New Brighton is expected to be ready in 2011 and save the county $150,000 per year in operational costs.
The county will probably collect bids on the Arden Hills building through late February, but no asking price has been set, said Jolly Mangine, the county's director of property management. The building and land have an estimated market value of $1.8 million for 2011, according to county records. It's currently zoned for residential use.
CHRIS HAVENS
