Denton's voter-approved senior center and South Branch Library will go on two separate pieces of city land rather than share one campus, according to a report going to the city's Bond Oversight Committee on Thursday, Nov. 5.
The City Council gave staff that direction on Oct. 27, choosing the second of four options it had been weighing. The Active Adult Center, a $47.36 million project under Proposition F of the 2023 bond election, will be planned for 16.2 acres of city-owned land near Mack Park, off Audra Lane.
The South Branch Library, a $49.55 million project under Proposition G, will be planned for a 14.4-acre city-owned site on Ryan Road near Montecito Drive. The city bought the Ryan Road land in the fall of 2024.
The committee had recommended the separate-sites approach on Aug. 20. The other options were a shared site, expanding the existing library and senior center buildings, or moving into existing buildings elsewhere in the city.
A staff presentation for Thursday lists the trade-offs. Both new sites are city-owned, and the Ryan Road location offers room for outdoor space and the chance to sell or reuse the current South Branch building. The main drawback listed for both is higher long-term operating and maintenance cost. The Mack Park site's other listed challenge is its closeness to the American Legion Hall.
What comes next
Staff plan to hire a design consultant to study each site's feasibility and help gather public input, then bring the findings back to the committee and council during the 2027-28 budget process. Each project has $250,000 budgeted this fiscal year for site planning.
A funding timeline in the packet spreads the remaining construction money across fiscal years 2027-28 through 2031-32, though staff note that schedule will be re-evaluated this year.
The report also sets aside $969,000 for public art at the library. One concept under consideration would create outdoor art rooms inspired by the former "Chairy Orchard."
