SEARCY, Ark. — Hundreds gathered in Searcy Wednesday morning to celebrate the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the Janett and Larry Crain Memorial Library.
"I know most of y'all have not even been inside yet,” Searcy Mayor Mat Faulkner said before the ribbon cutting. “I don't know if you've even seen some pictures yet, but I believe you're going to be blown away."
That seemed to be the crowd's reaction when they toured the new facility on West Beebe-Capps Expressway.
White County Library Director Darla Ino said the building, which once housed the Searcy Athletic Club, was purchased for its current purpose in 2020.
However, most of the renovations were paid for by the community—according to Faulkner, 51% of the $8.6 million price tag came from donations, and only 28% came from city funds.
The building's namesake honors Janett and Larry Crain, who lived in Searcy for many years and donated much of the funding to help renovate the space.
Ino said that Larry wanted to name the building after Janett, who passed away in 2018, but his name was added when he passed away before the project was completed.
She said she wished the Crain’s were there to see the finished product, but added that it was still an incredible day.
"I just love seeing the reactions of the people,” Ino said. “They've all been astounded at how beautiful it is, so it's a great day for Searcy and White County."
The new library will impact the entire county and serve as the headquarters of the library system, which includes Beebe, Rose Bud, Pangburn, and more.
Ino said this space is up to the task.
"It's, first of all, just a lot more space,” Ino said. “We have study rooms we didn't have before. We have large meeting spaces upstairs. We have a passport office… we have a teen library, and we have a much larger computer lab."
The library also has a Stu’s Brews Coffee and Espresso location on-site, which many of the guests at Wednesday’s event enjoyed.
City planner Richard Stafford was present and said that while he's excited about the opening, it's only the start of planned growth in Searcy.
“In March, we passed a bond measure to work on kind of five areas of projects,” Stafford said. “That's going to be a community center, outdoor water park, improvements to Riverside Park and Berryhill Park, and then some trail connections on our existing bike trail."
Searcy voters did pass those bond measures to fund the $93 million improvements, known as the city’s master plan.
Stafford said these projects are currently in the design phase, with architects and engineers working on schematic designs and pricing.
He also said the city is working with the Arkansas Department of Transportation on permits and requirements for the trail project, so it may be a while before these projects are ready for Searcy residents to enjoy.
But Stafford said whenever things are finished, he can't wait for the community to experience them like they can now with the library.
"Searcy is just in a great position to really kick off,” Stafford said. “This is just step one in all these quality-of-life projects that we really think are going to put Searcy on the map and make it a destination. Not just for jobs, or for people to come and work, but where people want to come live, raise families, and just grow and have a great quality of life here.
Stafford said it’s hard to give exact dates while the planned projects are still in the design phase, but said the city hopes to break ground on the community center by June of 2025.