The San Diego City Council will consider a partnership Monday that's vital for a new central downtown library. The council will vote on whether to enter into a lease agreement with the San Diego Unified School district.
The 40-year lease would allow the school district to put a charter school on the sixth and seventh floors of the proposed library. Though it's not yet known whether the project will actually be built. But in order to receive a $20 million grant from the State Librarian, school board member Katherine Nakamura says the lease agreement must be approved.
"We are giving, as part of the lease, $20 million for the construction of the facility. And the facility can't go forward without that agreement," she said. "So you have to have that agreement in place."
San Diego officials have been talking about building a new library for about 30 years. Project backers estimate it will cost about $185 million. But critics say the library could cost a lot more.
