After more than two years of construction, the green fencing around the Santa Barbara Public Library is gone and the newly redesigned plaza is finally open to the public. 

The Santa Barbara Library has more than 75,000 card holders and 300,000 annual visitors. Before the pandemic it had 600,000 annual visitors, and staff hopes to get back to pre-pandemic numbers now that construction has finished. 

Lauren Trujillo, director of the Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation, said the design leans into the 1930s Art Deco design by Myron Hunt while making it a better space for programming and events. 

The plaza now has improved wheelchair access, non-slip blue and green tile where the fountains used to be in the 1930s, and poppy and rising sun imagery throughout. 

Construction at the plaza, the Faulkner Art Gallery inside the library, and the lower staff area cost approximately $13 million and was funded by Measure C, which voters approved in 2017 and the plaza was funded by donors through the library foundation.

The plaza experienced construction delays because of supply chain problems and a strong rainy season last winter, said Kelly McAdoo, Santa Barbara city administrator.

During the construction, the city made an abrupt decision to place two top Santa Barbara Public Library officials on paid administrative leave, a move that cast light on the controversial Library Plaza project.

Jessica Cadiente, the then-library director, and Molly Wetta, the then-library services manager, were placed on leave on March 11. City officials have not commented on the reasons, saying it is a personnel matter.

McAdoo told Noozhawk for this report that Wetta has resigned her position and taken another job, while Cadiente is still on leave and the “investigation is ongoing.”

City officials provided the media with a tour of the new Michael Towbes Library Plaza on Friday.

“The space that was here before was done in the 1980s and wasn’t conducive to all the library has taken on,” Trujillo said. “This new space opens it up and will have programmable space for up to 1,200 people.”

Trujillo said they plan to have all kinds of events and programs in the Plaza, and the space is available to rent by the public. They plan to have their annual punk rock music show in the plaza, gardening programs, summer reading programs, summer movies, and more. 

There will also be days where movable furniture will be in the plaza as well as a coffee cart, giving people a place to study and work outside.

Much of the old landscaping has been removed and replaced by four olive trees. Trujillo said they replaced the old landscaping to level the space and make it more accessible. 

Some of the first programming at the plaza after the grand opening on Nov. 3 will be a Mercado to celebrate and close out Hispanic Heritage Month and a local authors book fair in December.

The historic door to the library is being restored, and while the public can’t actually use this door to enter the library, Trujillo said it will be used for special events and programs. 

“​​This is actually a very big historic landmark on various scavenger hunts and tours throughout the community,” Trujillo said. “It’ll be great again to highlight this area and for people to see this.”

The door was previously hidden by trees but the landscaping has been pushed back, giving the public a better view. 

Trujillo said she’s excited to see how library staff is going to take advantage of the newly redesigned space. 

“The library-on-the-go van has been everywhere — you’ve seen it everywhere: farmers markets, Shoreline Park — they’ll continue to do that outreach; but I can only imagine what they’ll be able to take out here and make more fun and inviting for everybody, which is what I call library magic,” Trujillo said.

The project first broke ground in July 2022. Trujillo said the pandemic, weather and supply chain issues caused delays in construction.

“The pandemic wiped out a lot of businesses that were being contracted for various development pieces of a lot of the stone,” Trujillo said. “The vendors that we had originally planned for these pieces had gone out of business, and so they had to find new vendors to produce and hand cut these stones locally.”

Trujillo said that many residents thought the library was closed during construction; now that it’s over and the green fences are gone, they are hoping the new entrance will invite people in. 

“We will see even more usage of the library because we have a more inviting entrance,” Trujillo said. “Just today, standing in the lobby, all the crowds of people using that entrance and coming in, the numbers are already going to be increasing.”

The Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation is inviting the public to a “plaza palooza” on Nov. 3 from noon to 4 p.m. The event will include community activities, music and cultural performances. 

See more photos from the new plaza in the slideshow below.

Noozhawk South County Editor Joshua Molina contributed to this report.