Hennepin Co.: No new library for N. Mpls neighborhood

The Hennepin County board has scuttled plans for a new $12 million library in north Minneapolis.

The board voted Tuesday to cancel the Webber Park Library project because the county was unable to purchase all the necessary land. The county had bought several parcels along 45th Avenue North, but one homeowner declined to sell.

Planning the new library had been in the works for five years.

"It's a shift for us, but the commitment on the part of the commissioners is very much there for libraries, and I know it was not an easy decision and approach for them," Turner said.

Now, the county will instead spend a half-million dollars to fix up the 32-year-old building, said Hennepin County Library spokeswoman Ali Turner.

The remaining $11.5 million will go toward other capital projects in Hennepin County.