Gretna's public library sits on two downtown corners. The Main Library is at 736 South St. and the Children's Library is around the corner at 119 N. McKenna St. Out by the highway, a new building is going up just under the Gretna water tower, on the east side of Highway 6 as you come into town. KETV called it the city's "$33 million welcome sign."
The new Community Complex is scheduled to open in February 2027, and the library and City Hall are moving into it. The downtown buildings they leave behind are already listed for sale, and selling them is one of the ways the city plans to pay for the new building. So the move to the highway and the next chapter of downtown Gretna are one project.
One Library, Two Floors, One Address
For years, a Gretna family with kids of different ages has used two library buildings. The new complex puts them under one roof. City administrator Paula Dennison told KETV that the adult and teen library will be on the second floor and the children's library on the first.
The building sits at Highway 6/31 and Jansen Drive, next to the Gretna Crossing Park water tower. The library is only one part of it. Between Mayor Mike Evans' Fall 2026 newsletter and the KETV walkthrough, the building is set to include:
- City Hall and city offices, including the mayor's first office. Evans told KETV he's used to doing city business from his truck or at local coffee shops
- Space for weddings, celebrations and larger meetings
- A teaching kitchen, which can be rented
- A makerspace with machines anyone can rent
- A community hub area
- A mural of historic Gretna on the first floor
The newsletter says the complex will be surrounded by a mixed-use development with a promenade and views of the community.
The Makerspace Adds Something Downtown Never Had
The current buildings lend books and the library's Library of Things collection. The makerspace adds equipment you can use on site. "Anyone can rent the machines," Dennison told KETV. "Whether they're crafters, sewers, or need 3D printers."
The teaching kitchen and event space work the same way. Before, a Gretna graduation party or a big club meeting had to find a venue somewhere else. Now there will be a city-run room for it in the same building where people pick up storytime books. The city's Community Complex page covers the building.
The building is also designed to grow. Dennison told KETV it has enough city and community space for Gretna to triple or even quadruple in size. "As the city grows, we can finish out space as well as add to either wings running north and south over the next 100 years," she said. "We're going to build it once."
Downtown Helps Pay for It
The complex costs $33 million. Evans told KETV it will be paid for with bonds, state grants and the sale of old city property, and that "we're not going to affect taxes at all."
The old city property is downtown. In August 2026, KMTV reported the asking prices for three historic properties:
| Property | Asking price, August 2026 | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| City Hall and Old Fire Hall | $1.5 million | Must be sold together |
| Main Library, 736 South St. | $500,000 | Listed on its own |
| Children's Library, 119 N. McKenna St. | $350,000 | Listed on its own |
Together the three listings total $2.35 million, which is small next to the $33 million cost. Of the three funding sources Evans named, this is the one that touches downtown directly. Whoever buys these buildings will shape the blocks around them for years.
The newsletter says the buildings have been listed since late spring and the City Council has been evaluating several proposals. KMTV reported that every offer goes through the city and gets a City Council vote.
What the City Says It Wants on Those Corners
The city is not just looking for the highest bid. Austin Obermeyer, who represents the city on the sale, told KMTV that a fair price matters, but the bigger goal is finding "stewards of these buildings, people that care about downtown, people that care about the city of Gretna."
He also said what kind of use he has in mind:
"We think the best next use for them is some sort of business, businesses that will bring an energy to downtown that they're looking for, a vibe hopefully somebody that can kind of create this halo effect."
The newsletter says the same thing. It calls the move of City Hall and the library a chance to bring new businesses, jobs and amenities to downtown, building on downtown Gretna's character. Put plainly, the city expects private businesses to take the place of the daily civic traffic downtown is about to lose: library visits, storytime drop-offs and trips to City Hall.
Some of downtown is going with the move. Evans told KETV that bricks from Gretna's old buildings will be built into the new structure, along with the first-floor mural of historic Gretna. "We're just real proud of where we came from," he said.
Between Now and the Move
The calendar sets the order. The complex is scheduled to open in February 2027, and KMTV reported that the city hopes to move operations and vacate the downtown buildings by late February or March. From mid-November, that leaves three to four months of the library's usual routine in its current buildings.
The November 2026 library calendar lists these weekly programs:
| Day | Program | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Family Storytime | 6:15 p.m. |
| Wednesday | BiblioBop at the Main Library | 10:00 and 10:45 a.m. |
| Thursday | Family Storytime | 10:30 a.m. |
Both buildings close for a staff meeting from 2 to 3 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. Under the library's current policy, you can return items at either building, but Library of Things items have to be handed in inside a library during business hours. If you're borrowing something from that collection close to the move, plan to bring it back in person while the library is open.
When the move happens, a family that now parks on South Street for BiblioBop and then walks to McKenna Street for picture books will make one trip to a single building by the water tower. The two downtown corners will wait for a City Council vote and new owners.
I'm following the Council's votes on the South Street, McKenna Street and City Hall buildings, along with the complex's February opening. If you have questions about what's changing near your part of town, or what these moves could mean for a home you're thinking of buying, selling or building, I'm glad to talk it through. Reach out to Melissa Ruff anytime. Contact Me.
