Valley Center’s old library sat so close to railroad tracks that it used to shake when a train passed.
“We didn’t know whether it was an earthquake or train,” the library’s office manager, Terry Foster, recalls.
Two months after its grand opening, VC’s new $2.2 million, 13,400-square-foot community center and library at 314 E. Clay is shaking things up in a good way.
On the library side, there’s three times more space, with room for a dedicated children’s area, computer stations and offices for staff.
On the community center side, there are three large rooms that can be used in a variety of configurations, plus a spacious kitchen and coffee bar.
The city and its Friends of the Library organization split the cost, following decades of fundraising.
The community center is proving a boon to the city’s Senior Club, which uses it for exercise classes, card parties, lunches and other activities.
“Within two weeks (of opening), I gained 40 new members,” the club’s director, Scharlene Porchia-Washington, said. “They really are loving this.”
