Architects: Holst Architecture; Adjaye Associates (past partner)
Size and location: A new library similar in size to Central Library (around 95,000 square feet) on a new site in East County (1297 NW Eastman Pkwy, Gresham)
Timeline: Planning for design is underway into 2023; construction will likely begin in early 2024; scheduled to be complete fall 2025
Get involved
What do you want your library to look like? Join in these upcoming community events and let’s build these libraries together.
East County Library Accessible Design Survey
Multnomah County Library is building a large, new library in East County. The building project team wants to learn from community members with diverse needs and abilities about how to make the new East County Library as accessible as possible.
Fill out this form by Monday, November 20 if you would like to provide feedback to the building project team.
Gifts to The Library Foundation will support an interactive early learning space, a dedicated creative learning lab, study space for teens, an audio video studio and an outdoor space for families at East County Library.
New features
East County Library will be a new building, built from the ground up with easy access for all East County residents. By building an almost 95,000 sf new library on a new site, the library can dream big with the community and provide services in a diverse location.
The design team includes Holst Architecture, a local, award-winning, women-owned firm with experience building for the community in East County. Notable projects include The Nick Fish, which provides quality affordable housing in Portland’s Gateway Urban Renewal Area.
Contributing to the project through the design development phase was Adjaye Associates, an international architecture group known for their inspiring work on recent projects including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.
Based on input from community members, new features may include:
- An auditorium for cultural celebrations, lectures, performances and family programs.
- Impactful services to meet diverse community needs and interests, from early learning and play spaces for families to teen spaces, career services and beyond.
- A public outdoor space.
The designs featured on this page are early drafts and are not final.
On July 8, 2022, Multnomah County Library and TriMet announced an initial agreement to begin a due diligence period of 120 days to negotiate the library’s prospective purchase of the Gresham City Hall Park and Ride as the site for the East County library. On October 24, 2022, the parties extended the due diligence period by 60 days with a goal of finalizing the agreement and purchase by early 2023. The purchase was finalized on June 30, 2023.
Centering the community
Community input is especially important for East County Library as it is an entirely new building. MultiCultural Collaborative (MCC) helped guide the first phase of community engagement. They led the focus groups for the 2016 Framework for Future Library Spaces. This framework has closely informed these building projects.
Community Library Champions from community organizations will work with residents in East County and beyond to gather their dreams for this new library. These organizations include:
- The Black Economic Collective
- El Programa Hispano Católico
East County Library community engagement will continue with a series of public community events, focus groups, teen outreach, surveys and more. Sign up for updates.
