A 26,000-square-foot building set to break ground later this year in Aventura will include eco-friendly construction and sustainable materials to create the county’s first “green” public library.

When it opens in early 2012, the Miami-Dade Public Library System’s new Northeast Branch will be the first of its kind in Florida to obtain certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

“We wanted a comfortable library that gave something back to the environment,” said Victoria Galen, public affairs officer for the Miami-Dade Public Library System.

An architect's rendering shows the front of the new Northeast Library in Aventura.

The $15 million facility will be located on the site of the former library adjacent to the county fire station near Aventura Mall. It will be more than twice the size of the former library, which was demolished earlier this year.

But getting this far hasn't been easy. It's been a long hard battle since Hurricane Wilma rendered the old library unuseable in 2005.

Backed by funds from the the Building Better Communities Bond Program, the library system was doing renovation work on the Aventura branch when the storm hit, causing severe damage to the roof, building and books. The facility was shut down and the Northeast Branch Library relocated to the mezzanine level of the Aventura Government Center on West Country Club Drive.

After 18 months of negotiations that came to a standstill, Miami-Dade officials agreed last year to demolish the damaged library to make room for a new facility on the county-owned land.

“The new building will be an amazing piece of work when it’s finished,” said Galen. “Some of the features include a side courtyard, a wall of glass to help draw in natural sunlight and the use of non-toxic, renewable materials.”

The design and construction of a green project generally reflects natural features and resources from the environment. There are about two dozen sustainable public libraries in the U.S., including the Bronx Library in New York, Hillsdale Library in Oregon and the San Diego Library in California.

Funding includes $6.89 million from the Miami-Dade Taxing District; $5.61 million from the county’s Capital Asset Acquisition Bond 2007 proceeds and $2.49 million from the BBC Bond Program (GOB).

The library system spent $315,000 to demolish the old building, $741,000 to design the new one and $11.9 million for construction. Another $2 million will go toward start-up costs.

Under the original agreement, Miami-Dade would have funded the deal while Aventura would have built the library as part of a larger project that included an arts and cultural center.

But Aventura officials complained the county placed too many restrictions on the slow-moving project and pulled out. The city has moved ahead with construction of its own $8 million arts and cultural center near the Aventura charter school on Northeast 188^th Street.

Until the new library opens, the temporary library will remain in operation in a 1,200-square-foot open space on the mezzanine level of Aventura's government center. Patrons have full access to CDs, DVDs, laptops and books.

Library officials set up a 37-foot-long book mobile in front of the government center and reinstated the S.M.A.R.T. tutoring program at the city's nearby community center.

-- By Becky Bergman