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A new community center and library has made its way to northwest Lincoln.
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and City officials today celebrated the grand opening of the new combined Air Park Community Center and Williams Branch Library, 4900 Mike Scholl St. in Huskerville Park.
Construction on the 25,280-square-foot facility began in summer 2022. The new building includes the Williams Branch Library, a full-sized gymnasium, three smaller wellness rooms, a multipurpose room, and a game room. The park space surrounding the building includes an artificial turf playfield, a playground, half basketball court and an open-air picnic shelter. Space north of the community center is reserved for potential relocation of the Arnold Heights Pool.
The total cost of the new facility including the outdoor play structure is about $10.5 million, with funds provided by a combination of the City’s Capital Improvement Program and a capital campaign conducted by the Lincoln Parks Foundation.
Originally called the Arnold Heights Recreation Center, the facility opened in 1974 in a structure built in 1954 as part of the Lincoln Air Base. The Williams Branch Library opened in 2009 in the Arnold Elementary School, 5000 Mike Scholl St., replacing a converted Housing Authority duplex that served as the area’s library since 1973.
For more information about the project, visit parks.lincoln.ne.gov.