ESCONDIDO — Local officials are expected to approve a plan in the coming weeks to temporarily relocate the city’s public library to North County Mall for a year while its 45,000-square-foot home undergoes long-overdue modernization.
The Library Board of Trustees recommended the mall as the best of three relocation options, as it would ensure adequate space for the library’s collection and staff during the Escondido Library Critical Infrastructure and Modernization Project.
Built in 1980, the Escondido Public Library is the city’s only library, serving more than 150,000 residents. Over the years, insufficient funding has left the building with a deteriorating roof, seeping windows, outdated HVAC systems, water-damaged ceilings, cracked floor tiles, and non-compliant ADA accessibility.
In 2021, Escondido received a $10 million grant from the California State Library to address critical infrastructure issues. Last year, the city hired IDS Group for $747,000 to oversee architectural and engineering design.
The city considered three potential temporary locations: gallery space at the California Center for the Arts, a storefront on Grand Avenue, and a 50,000-square-foot space inside North County Mall, previously occupied by Forever 21.
Although the mall had the highest monthly rent, city staff determined it to be the most cost-effective option after considering renovation costs. The estimated one-year moving costs:
- North County Mall – $540,000
- Storefront on Grand Avenue – $550,000
- California Center for the Arts Museum – $510,000 (but offered less than 10,000 square feet of space)
If approved by the City Council on March 19, the library would close for about a month, tentatively between April 14 and May 14, before reopening in its temporary location near the mall’s food court.
Library trustees expressed concerns about the month-long closure and its impact on patrons, particularly Escondido’s unhoused population, which relies on library services.
“I know some services will be limited, but I want to make sure they can still receive those services,” Trustee Maribel Reyes said at a Feb. 13 board meeting.
Some programming will continue at the Mathes Education Center, adjacent to the library, though services will be scaled back. The Friends of the Library bookstore will also relocate to the mall.
City officials plan a marketing campaign to inform the public of the upcoming move.
“We want to make sure we have overly communicated with the public as much as we possibly can,” said Francisco Vargas, a management analyst with the city’s economic development department.
Trustee John Schwab urged city staff to reopen the library as soon as possible after the move, saying, “A month’s a long time to close the library.”
City officials acknowledged the importance of minimizing disruptions.
“We understand that the library is an important service to this community,” Vargas said. “We will speed up that process as much as possible.”
