A lower than expected construction bid means New Lenox’s new library will get some upgrades, a library official said recently.
After studying the bids that came in last month, the Library Board last week awarded the contract to Tor Construction of South Elgin for approximately $6.3 million.
The price will include an access road for construction vehicles.
The interior of the two-story building is still being designed, Library Director JoAnn Potenziani said.
Because the bid came in well under the $7.8 million estimate, the building is in line for upgrades, Potenziani said.
“We’ll have better equipment and a higher-grade roof,” she said.
Library officials expect to schedule a groundbreaking in July, she said.
The new library will be the first building constructed in the New Lenox Commons.
Also planned for the proposed town center, south of U.S. Highway 30 and north of the Village Hall on Haven Avenue, are a park, a pond, a gazebo, a veterans memorial, a recreation center and a new village hall.
Work on utilities, a road, sidewalks and area lighting will begin this summer.