Construction plans for new Imagination Center at Reindahl Park move forward

Plans for a new Imagination Center on Madison’s East Side will move forward after the city awarded a construction bid to the responsible bidder Wednesday.

The lowest bidder was Corporate Contractors Inc., with a bid of $12,259,000, almost $1.5 million more than the city’s original estimate, according to the city’s press release.

The Imagination Center is a multifunctional, indoor-outdoor library and community space according to their website. The project is a collaboration between Madison Public Library, City of Madison Engineering,  Madison Parks and Madison Public Library Foundation.   The center’s process began in 2014 with community engagement and began the design process in 2021. Construction of the Imagination Center is expected to begin in Spring 2025 with a completion date in Summer 2026.

The center will be the first library to ever be built on a Madison park and seeks to address gaps in access for residents on Madison’s East Side. Madison’s East Side has grown 19% from 2010 to 2020, according to 2020 census data, with even faster growth in minority groups.

In October, Gov. Tony Evers announced that the center would receive $4.25 million in grant funding as part of the Department of Administration’s Flexible Facilities Program. 

“I’m incredibly proud to be working alongside our dedicated state agencies and federal partners to help bolster our public infrastructure, including supporting our libraries and community centers and expanding access to critical services for folks in every corner of our state,” Evers said in a press release.

Part of the Imagination Center’s scoping study includes providing access to digital devices, child care, English language skills and financial literacy.

The Madison area currently has nine physical libraries, with the last new construction over 25 years ago.

Madison Public Library will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first public library in Madison during the month of may. The theme, “Celebrating the Past; Inspiring the Future,” is heavily connected to the new construction. 

“The Imagination Center at Reindahl Park will help set the scene for how libraries operate in Madison as we head into the future,” Madison Public Library Foundation Executive Director Conor Moran said in a media release.

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