4S Ranch Library opens Thursday

By: ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 25, 2007 11:02 PM PDT ∞

4S RANCH -- Sandy Housley is living her dream, and residents of this developing community will get the chance to join her in it today.

Branch librarian for the new 4S Ranch facility, Housley is among several county and community representatives scheduled to celebrate the opening of the $2.5 million facility in the 4S Commons shopping center. The fun will begin with an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony and continue through the afternoon with tours of the new library, live music, and face painting among the activities planned.

The library's debut means that 4S Ranch residents will no longer have to head to another community to borrow a good book. The 7,214-square-foot facility will be open Monday through Saturday.

That alone is sure to make many residents happy.

People walking through the library's doors will also experience the perk of having about 30,000 brand-new books, magazines, CDs or other materials to choose from. Housley, who was busy unpacking still more items, setting up promotional displays and putting other final touches on the building's interior Wednesday morning, said she was as thrilled by the library's pristine state as its users are likely to be.

"I've never opened a new branch myself," Housley said. "So this is great. Every single piece of material in here is brand-new. So this is a librarian's dream."

The library's completion marks another milestone for Newland Communities, which teamed with several different home builders to develop 4S Ranch west of Rancho Bernardo along the Interstate 15 corridor. Approved by the county in 1999, the new community will ultimately have about 4,700 homes.

Half of those have already been completed. 4S Ranch also already has two elementary schools and a middle school; a high school is also planned.

4S Commons celebrated its grand opening this month. The shopping center offers 265,609 square feet of retail and restaurant space occupied by Ralphs, Jimbo's, Ace Hardware and World Market stores and Chili's, P.F. Changs restaurants, among others.

Newland built the library, which sits in the center's southwest corner, as part of its 4S Ranch development agreement with the county. The company hired Fehlman LaBarre Architects to design the facility and K.D. Stahl Construction Group to build it.

The developer also paid for everything inside the library -- including its furniture, equipment and the entire opening day collection.

"It's a turnkey facility," said Housley, who received the buildings keys from Newland last Friday.

The 33rd branch in the county library system, the new facility had no designated location at the time 4S Ranch was approved. Mike Rust, senior vice president of operations for Newland, said Wednesday that company officials chose the library's location based on its proximity to a "town green" park across the street from the building on its south side.

The new facility's Craftsman-style architecture was designed to tie in with the rest of 4S Commons and a nearby residential development, he said.

Although the library's size makes it one of the smallest in the county library system, the new building is enhanced by many special features. They include large blocks of windows and skylights that provide lots of natural light.

Stone columns and a stone path running through the library's interior, sweeping granite countertops, a large stone fireplace, brightly colored chairs dotted with cheery pillows and window seats are some of the other amenities. The library also has a community room with its own entrance, kitchenette and drop-down screen that will available for public use. Two self-checkout machines will also be featured.

Taking a break from choosing movie posters to decorate the walls of her section of the library, Children's Librarian Susan Del Castillo predicted the facility will be a popular destination for 4S Ranch residents.

"That's based on the reactions we got from people at the 4S Commons opening, where we had a booth," she said. "They're real excited about us being here."

For information about the library, call (858) 673-4697.

-- Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.

4S Ranch Library grand-opening celebration

10433 Reserve Drive (southwest corner of 4S Commons shopping center at Rancho Bernardo and Dove Canyon roads), 4S Ranch

11 a.m. Ribbon-cutting ceremony

Noon to 1 p.m. Live music by the fireplace

2-4 p.m. Balloons and face painting for children

Information: (858) 673-4697 or www.sdcl.org