Weather permitting, construction on the new St. Michael Public Library may begin as early as Monday, Oct. 26, according to Branch Manager Marla Scherber.

The St. Michael City Council awarded the bid for construction of the civic building in the amount of $5,879,780 to Ebert Construction at its meeting on Oct. 13. Architects on the project are KKE Architects, Inc., who also designed the Elk River Public Library. The library is the high windowed section on the right of the building rendering. New city offices are on the left and a senior center is in between. Official groundbreaking is not yet set.

The building is in a new Town Center development about a half-mile northeast of the current library, Scherber said. The development also includes a large new grocery store, a clinic, and senior housing.

St. Michael’s Community Development Director Marc Weigle said construction of the project will be carried out for about a year. He estimated a completion date for October, 2010.

Construction of the library portion of the building is being supported by a $400,000 matching grant from the State of Minnesota. The cities of Albertville and Hanover have agreed to financially support the project in partnership with the city of St. Michael. The building’s financing also includes federal stimulus dollars.