The proposed James City County library being planned as a wing of the new government center will be only half its original size, and construction costs will come down accordingly, the assistant county administrator said. But how much the cost will be reduced and what the county will do with the potential savings has not been determined.
The county’s 2026 capital budget allocated $49.5 million for the library project, so the change should free up millions of dollars that the county can either opt not to borrow or use for other projects that were deferred.
“We do not have the cost estimate yet for this reduced version, but I would expect it to be substantially less than the $49.5 million” originally projected, Assistant Administrator Bradley Rineheimer told us.
Board of Supervisors Chair Jim Icenhour said the budget includes more than the construction of the building, with items such as landscaping, furnishings and techn…