The new El Centro library on North Imperial Avenue now has its name on its west exterior.

The atrium of the new El Centro library on North Imperial Avenue.

Numerous plants sit in front of the old El Centro library on North Imperial Avenue awaiting planting on the grounds of the new library nearby.

The new El Centro library on North Imperial Avenue now has its name on its west exterior.

The atrium of the new El Centro library on North Imperial Avenue.

Numerous plants sit in front of the old El Centro library on North Imperial Avenue awaiting planting on the grounds of the new library nearby.

EL CENTRO—A cruise around El Centro these days reveals the future is about to happen with the new county courthouse and city library nearing completion.

The library on North Imperial and West Villa avenues now has its name emblazoned on its west exterior wall and those stopping by for a peek will see its entrance-to-be graced with a towering glass atrium. A formal opening is planned but no date has been announced, city officials said.

The $67 million courthouse in the 600 block of Wake Avenue has been under construction since 2018 and is now scheduled to be completed in winter 2022-23. However, from the outside the structure looks nearly complete.

The 20,000-square-foot, $20 million library will replace the current library that is a converted portion of a long-defunct shopping mall. That property, which the city now owns and is otherwise vacant, was called into service when the long-standing library in the 500 block of West State Street was irreparably damaged by the 7.2 earthquake on Easter 2010 and subsequently razed.

The old mall, once called El Centro Center and now referred to as Valley Center Point, is headed for a similar fate. 

“The city performed a master plan for the old mall by the library. The buildings are in bad shape and the recommendation of the study is to demolish the structures,” said Abraham Campos, city engineer and Public Works director.

The City Council recently allocated Measure P funds (sales tax for capital projects) to begin the demolition process. The city will prepare plans, specifications and estimates for the relocation of affected utilities and demolition of the buildings in the next three months. However, part of the structure is expected to be spared.

“The exercise will also help determine the cost of the demolition. The existing library building is proposed to remain, while the remainder of the structures are proposed to be demolished,” Campos added.

The former mall was once quite popular, housing Sears, Mervyns, Miller’s Outpost and several other stores. However, its fate was sealed when the massive Imperial Valley Mall on Dogwood Road opened in 2005 and included Sears. It now sits vacant, popular with pigeons, but constant surveillance keeps taggers and transients away.

For a time its north end next to the library housed the Imagine charter school until it was forced to close in September 2018 after the state denied its charter renewal. It has not attracted other tenants.

Staff Writer Gary Redfern can be reached at gredfern@ivpressonline.com or (760) 337-3415.

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