'Of course we're disappointed': Saskatoon Public Library CEO speaks on project delay

The plot of land for the future home of Saskatoon’s new library sits empty, as the project has been delayed until at least 2027.

"Of course we're disappointed, and I’m sure many members of the community are disappointed, but we're going to get the project back on track, and we're determined to finish the library," Carol Cooley, the CEO of the Saskatoon Public Library.

Five independent cost estimates over the past year have said that the project would be on schedule. Three contractors all submitted a bid for the project, all of which were over-budget.

"We prequalified so we had three bidders, and in terms of overages we thought that it was enough that we needed to go back to the drawing board." Cooley continued.

The current central downtown library sees just over 1 million people annually. The building has already been sold, and will transfer ownership at the end of 2026, potentially leaving the city without a main library. Cooley hopes this won’t be the case.

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"We'll work to provide a service. We don’t know exactly what that will look like,” she said. “Potentially we will be able to stay in our current location until we have to move.”

The library said at this time, it will not be asking the city for a larger budget to accommodate these bids, but that it remains committed to finishing the new library, even if it means going back to the drawing board.