Horizon West Branch Library Breaks Ground! ✨📚

Yesterday marked the next step for the future Horizon West Library!

The B+P team joined Orange County Library System, Orange County officials, Horizon West residents, Contractors H.J. High, and our design partners to break ground on the 20,000 square-foot, state-of-art Library on Wednesday, November 13. Speakers included District 1 County Commissioner Nicole Wilson, OCLS CEO and Library Director Steve Powell, OCLS Chief of Neighborhood Services Danielle King, and Crockett Bohannon, President of the Orange County Library System Board of Trustees.

District 1 County Commissioner Nicole Wilson beautifully illustrated a library’s power: “If you can get to a library, you are not alone. You can travel the world. You can ride on the back of a dragon. You can visit far away planets and go back in time. Or you can just learn to speak Mandarin. If you have a library, you have a place for story time, a place to travel the worldwide web and a place to meet up with your neighbors.”

Crockett Bohannon, President of the Orange County Library System Board of Trustees, highlighted the multifaceted role libraries play in fostering both individual growth and community ties. “Libraries are the heart of the community. We are not just buildings filled with books. We are gateways to knowledge, imagination and opportunity.”

He continued, “Today we are not just breaking ground on a new building; we are laying the foundation for countless stories waiting to be discovered … This library is more than bookshelves and computers. It will be a place where children discover the joy of reading, where jobseekers find resources to build their careers, where neighbors gather to share ideas and experiences.”

The Library will rest on 11 acres and is designed to be incorporated into the natural landscape of the Horizon West Regional Park, blending seamlessly into the surrounding area. The Library will include unique outdoor amenities such as a performance space, a Florida native flower teaching garden, and a nature path with a permanent StoryWalk® installation.

This modern Library will provide a much needed multifunctional space for Horizon West citizens to use. The Library will feature a collections area, training rooms, study rooms, collections, maker spaces, inspiring children’s and teen areas, offices, a virtual lab for photography, videography, and podcasting, and more.

The Horizon West Children’s Area will be themed with images of flora and fauna, including the Blue Calamintha bee, a rare bee species recently seen in Horizon West Regional Park that is unique to Central Florida. There will also be resources about the bee for children to learn from.

Designed with sustainability in mind, the facility is projected to achieve LEED® Silver certification and will be the first library for the Library System to do so. The future Horizon West Library plans to open in Spring 2025.

Learn more about the library's groundbreaking here.