Horizon West Library construction progresses

Horizon West Library is taking shape. 

The walls of the new 20,000-square-foot library are up, and construction crews are working on the roof. 

On June 5, the contractors with H.J. High Construction Company held a “topping out” ceremony, a tradition marking when the final structural beam in a new structure is put in place. 

“Once we started the groundbreaking, it’s been moving quickly,” said Danielle King, the chief of neighborhood services for the Orange County Library System. 

King said the library is expected to open in early 2026. The total budget for the library is $27,275,000, with $18.3 million dedicated toward its construction.

“I’m excited to be able to bring a library to this community,” King said. “It’s been a long time, and the community is very excited. I’ve gone to a couple meetings out there, and it seems like they’re very knowledgeable about what the library offers, and they’ve been traveling to other branches. We’ve been doing events at other community centers in Horizon West to get the word out.”

With Horizon West’s fast growth, King said it’s exciting to see residents’ passion and support for the library. 

“It’s a great thing we’re building this, and I’m just excited we have so much space to do things,” she said. “It’s going to be a wonderful asset to Horizon West. … We’ve been studying Horizon West for years and watching the growth and saving money to build in this community, so to finally see it come to fruition is just an amazing goal to accomplish. It’s finally coming.”

Courtesy photo

With Horizon West Library being built in Horizon West Regional Park, King said the library’s theme will be focused on nature, the environment and science. 

Outside the library, there will be a nature walk with a permanent story walk and musical garden. The garden will have native plants and flowers. 

The story walk consists of having permanent boards on a natural trail. Each board has a different page of a children’s story. The book will be changed every month. 

“The idea is to get the kids and families out together, reading while in nature, so exercising their body while exercising their mind,” King said. “We can do that as a passive activity but then we can also do guided story walks, where we walk with the families and do activities and then provide crafts and activities that are themed along with the book.”

There also will be an outdoor performance space with a grassy area for people to sit, which is unique to Horizon West Library. In the winter, King said this space will allow for flexibility as the library can host activities outside in the cooler temperatures. 

Inside the library, the nature theme will continue with the children’s area being themed with oversized images of local flora, fauna and native species, such as the blue calamintha bee, which is unique to the region. There also will be several sensory and interactive activities for kids that will promote creativity, play and learning.

The library will feature earthy textures, organic materials and a color palette inspired by the surrounding environment. 

Horizon West Library will have two classrooms dedicated to teaching with one being for technology classes and the other for fiber arts and STEM. Unique to Horizon West Library will be a media lab, which will be available for the public to book. 

There also will be three large community rooms that can either be used as one large 1,500-square-foot room for events or can be separated into smaller rooms. There also will be two study rooms.

“This will be kind of the biggest space that we have in the system to do events besides downtown,” King said. 

As for programming, King said the library will have the traditional programming offered at all other libraries. Some of the programming includes weekly story times, family programs, adult classes and book clubs. 

Unique to Horizon West Library will be a focus on environmental programs, such as gardening programs to teach people about native Florida plants. 

“We want to take advantage of being next to the park, so we’re thinking about ways we can partner with the park,” King said. “Maybe we will go on hikes with people into the park from our location.”

King said the library will grow with the community. 

“It’s not something that we say, ‘OK, all right, we build it; this is what we’re doing,’” she said. “We are always open to ideas about what kind of programming we should be offering. We change with the community, and we’ll grow with them.”