Santa Maria is in the midst of some spiffing up.

Not only is the city nearing completion of a new library intended to serve as a defining feature of its downtown area, but it is also reviewing a proposal for what would be Santa Maria’s first lifestyle center.

 Set for an Aug. 23 grand opening, the 60,000-square-foot Main Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., is the largest civic project in Santa Maria’s history and more than twice the size of the current library, city officials said.

“Our library has been in place for a long, long time,” said Santa Maria City Manager Tim Ness. “The last time it was expanded was in the 1970s, so you can imagine the growth of the population that has occurred since that time and there’s been really no growth in square footage.”

To view this column and all other full stories and offerings in the Business Times, SUBSCRIBE for $49.99 today.