The Birch Bay Vogt Library Express is another step closer to completion following the selection of a building contractor for the 1,700-square-foot library project at 7948 Birch Bay Drive. At its May 19 meeting, Whatcom County Library System’s Board of Trustees awarded the approximately $1.4 million contract to Summit Construction Group Inc. of Bellingham. Osborn Architects Inc. of Lynden is the project architect. Renovation of the long-awaited community library is scheduled to begin in June. The library is projected to open to the public in January 2027.
The architects and builders are renovating and updating the existing house on the property. The project includes a new foundation, parking expansion to 19 spots, full interior renovation, roof repairs, improved weather-proof windows and exterior cladding, ADA and public safety upgrades, and archeological preservation.
Public spaces will be on the first floor and porch of the home and the surrounding property. Staff workspaces and storage will be on the second floor; public access to the second floor isn’t possible due to accessibility and safety requirements. During the renovation, patrons can pick up holds and browse library materials at the bookmobile’s temporary location, 3-7 p.m. Wednesdays at 4825 Birch Bay Road, near The C Shop.
At the Birch Bay Vogt Library Express, community members will be able to select from a small collection of library materials and pick up holds reserved online, enjoy free access to computers and the internet, print documents, host meetings of up to 40 people, attend storytimes and other library programs inside or on the lawn, and relax on the outside reading porch with a view of the Birch Bay berm and the water.
Major funders of the project are Washington State Library Capital Improvements Fund Grant, Whatcom County via American Rescue Plan Act funding, bp Cherry Point, Eleanor and Henry Jansen Foundation, Phillips 66, Anonymous and Friends of the Birch Bay Library. Friends of the Birch Bay Library continue to raise funds to support unexpected construction costs and project enhancements. Learn more at wcls.org/give.
The library’s official name will be the Birch Bay Vogt Library Express in honor of the family who homesteaded this area and their descendants who sold the property to the Whatcom County Library System. The Birch Bay site is on the ancestral homelands of the Coast Salish peoples. WCLS staff are working with Lummi Nation to protect cultural artifacts beneath the site and to honor Lummi Nation’s enduring care and protection of our shared lands and waterways. Learn more about the project history at wcls.org/birch-bay.
The Birch Bay Vogt Library Express will be one of 11 WCLS branches serving residents who live outside the city limits of Bellingham. WCLS branches are in Blaine, Deming, Everson, Ferndale, Kendall (North Fork Library) Lummi Island (Island Library), Lynden, Point Roberts, Sudden Valley (South Whatcom Library) and Sumas. The WCLS bookmobile currently serves Acme, Birch Bay, Glenhaven and Lake Samish. There are also WCLS Library Express locations on Northwest Drive in Bellingham and in the communities of Point Roberts and Sumas. The county library system is independent of Bellingham Public Library.