By JAIME ANTON

The Post staff writer

In the near future, residents will be able to work out at the YMCA and then head next door to the library to check out a great book or DVD.

The city and Cuyahoga County Public Library System announced this week that the library will build a new structure at State and Wallings roads immediately adjacent to the future YMCA.

The city is in the process of purchasing approximately 15 acres of land just east of the YMCA, five of which will be used for the library. Community Development Director Tom Jordan said the city will retain ownership of the remaining 10 acres and is considering future plans for that land. This purchase agreement is subject to City Council approval.

The city and library are essentially swapping land. The library will own the five acres outright, meanwhile, the library's current site at 14600 State Road will revert back into the city's ownership once the building is vacated. Also, the library owns three pieces of property to the north of the current location, which will be given to the city. This is approximately three acres.

North Royalton has been working with library officials for quite some time to pinpoint a new location. The current site was also considered for the rebuild.

Robert Rua, assistant marketing director for the library system, said the hope is to capitalize on YMCA traffic and the city's economic development efforts in that area.

"We wanted to tie in with city economic development plans and goals. The branch is part of the equation in that area," Rua said. "We'll see some good synergy with our branch in that location, and we will have the opportunity to capitalize on the traffic flow and collaborate."

The project won't begin until 2012. It will double the size of the current building from 15,000 to 30,000 square feet and cost about $11.7 million. Rua has promised that there will not be a major interruption of services. The current site will remain open except for maybe a few weeks when items are being transferred over to the new site.

The library is seeking community input about what kinds of features and services they would like the new branch site to offer. A town hall meeting will be hosted at 7 p.m. March 10 at City Hall in council chambers.

Executive Director Sari Feldman has stressed that this library will be accomplished with no new taxes. There is money in the bank for the project, she said.

"The board of trustees has been working on a plan for over four years. It's a long-term operations and financial plan to provide excellent service and correct any building and equity and deficiencies," she has said. "The project will go to the bond market, and we have money in our operations budget to pay the debt service on the bond."

The Cuyahoga County Public Library has consistently ranked among the top ten best and busiest library systems in the nation and has earned a reputation nationally for its customer service and innovation.

North Royalton's branch is the ninth busiest in the system both in circulation and visitation. In 2009 there were 333,492 visitors and 631,866 items were circulated.

The county library has been working on a master plan for the past four years and the plan was adopted during the summer. It also includes construction of new, state-of-the-art facilities in Warrensville Heights, Garfield Heights and Mayfield. It also calls for the relocation of the branches in Olmsted Falls and Parma Heights; the consolidation of Parma-South and Parma-Ridge branches; renovations and additions to Brook Park, Parma-Snow and South Euclid-Lyndhurst branches; and the renovations of Beachwood, Maple Heights and Orange branches.

When the plan is fully implemented, it will reduce the system's operating costs and sustain the library into the future.

Mayor Bob Stefanik said partnering is the perfect win-win and will transform that area of town into a jewel within the community.

"The city continues to collaborate with our regional partners and offer an array of new services and amenities to North Royalton residents. In this tough economic climate, we welcome the CCPL investment of over $12 million dollars in North Royalton," he said.