The closed down and drained pool in Lakewood Park in Sunnyvale on June 5, 2024. Sunnyvale’s new Lakewood branch library and learning center will be built on the pool’s site. SUNNYVALE — Despite concerns that a new library will force a closed — but cherished — community pool to be demolished, plans are moving ahead for the library to be built in the northern part of the city.
When the pool first closed, the city and Sunnyvale School District — which owns the land — discussed how to meet the Lakewood community’s needs with alternative facilities and amenities, including adding a new branch library. In 2020, the city signed an agreement with the Sunnyvale and Fremont Union High School District to help fund the project.
“We really see this as a hub of community engagement, and place where people can gather,” he said. “These things have always been important, but even more so since the pandemic.” While residents might enjoy having a public library, Misch said, nearby elementary schools already have their own libraries, with books, Wi-Fi and computers for them to use. She doesn’t plan on going often to the branch once it is finished, preferring instead to read on her Kindle.Likewise, resident Tony Bugna said refilling the pool would have encouraged physical activities in Lakewood.