The Marion, Iowa, public library’s campaign to raise funds for a new building has gotten a boost from a group of local banks.
The library has raised three quarters of its $3.3 million goal for the project. Farmers State Bank, Marion, donated $250,000 while Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust and Hills Bank each have donated $25,000, and Ohnward Bank & Trust, Cascade, donated $15,000.
Expected to open next March, the project includes construction of a new 50,000-square-foot building in the 1100 block of 6th Avenue, twice the size of the existing library building.
Other funding for the $18 million project comes from $5 million in Local Option Sales Tax funding, $3 million from the sale of the current site, $1 million in tax increment and $6 million in bonding.
The old library building closed after being damaged in Iowa’s derecho storm last summer.