New Senior Center Opens; Library Set to Expand

The is about to get bigger by almost 5,000 square feet.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors, which oversees Orange County Library operations, is set to tweak its lease with the city of San Clemente on the branch building, which now houses the library and the former San Clemente Senior Center, one of the first steps in the.

The Senior Center just this week moved from the library building to the recently completed combination Senior Center and fire station on Avenida Victoria.

Mike Jorgensen of the San Clemente Community Development Department said Monday was the first day of business at the new location.

And that means the library will soon expand from 9,856 square feet—including the Friends of the San Clemente Library bookstore—to 14,252 square feet.

The new library space will include more public-access computers, a new webinar training center, high-efficiency heating and air-conditioning, and a relocation of the Friends of the Library bookstore.

A portion of funds for the expansion will come from Talega and Marblehead developer fees earmarked for library expansion. The city will pay $236,000 of the $1.5-million expansion/renovation, according to the supervisors' agenda report.

The Friends of San Clemente Library will also chip in. However, the county will pay for the bulk of the renovation because San Clemente's branch is part of the countywide library system.