At its March 16 public work session, the city council discussed the use of the historic Norcross Library, which it acquired from Gwinnett County in December 2024.
Council Member Bruce Gaynor said the historic building that housed the county’s first library is “at a point where we can start to use it.” Gaynor said residents have asked about using the building as a community space for organized card games and small group activities.
The building at 65 North Peachtree Street is a Greek Revival structure built in 1921, modeled after libraries built through Andrew Carnegie’s philanthropic efforts. More than 100 years later, Norcross has invested $230,000 to make it available to the public.
Background on historic library
According to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Norcross had attempted to acquire the historic building through eminent domain. After negotiations, the city bought the property for $450,000.
Before the sale, the now-disbanded Norcross Woman’s Club donated the historic library to the state trust. The site is now a part of the local historic zoning district.
Gaynor said he wants as many Norcross residents as possible to be able to use the building.
“In the past, I thought a senior center was a good idea,” Gaynor said. “It’s that same concept, but not limited to seniors. This particular thought would only encompass the lower part of the building.”
A private bookstore with literary programming has approached the city about renting space in the building, according to a couple of council members. Gaynor said he prefers the historical site to be open to the public, but supports more than one use.
“I’ve gotten approached by a number of people, but not 100,” Gaynor said. “It might be that it doesn’t go over well, or it might be like Coffee with Council with 40 or so people showing up.”
Logistics around new building
Elected officials discussed having city staff manage community use of the building or hiring a part-time employee.
City Manager Eric Johnson said the council needs to consider whether to use city staff or a contractor for any future programming at the historic library.
Council Member Matt Myers said community surveys show residents feel the city is missing recreational opportunities, which activating the historic library could address. Myers said testing programming with a contractor could be a good trail run.
Council Member Josh Bare said he thinks it should be available for residents to rent and pushed back on spending city funds on programming.
“I wouldn’t want to be criticized by people saying, ‘you’ve started investing in this programming, but it’s at a building I can’t really access,’ because of parking issues or whatever,” Bare said. “I’d rather put it in a place that’s easy to reach like the community center.”
Next steps for the Norcross City Council including assessing residents use the historic Norcross Library and determining whether city funding is needed to run it.