Beloved Fresno library to move to a much bigger site. Why is it delayed?
Fresno County is finalizing plans to relocate Fresno’s beloved Leo Politi Library to a bigger and newly renovated facility in the coming years.
The new location, formerly a Rite Aid, sits at the northeast corner of First Street and Bullard Avenue and will quadruple the library’s space to 21,440 square feet, up from the current 5,016 square feet.
“It is a significant increase in our system,” said Susan Renfro, spokesperson for the Fresno County Public Library. “It’s going to be one of the biggest ones in the whole county.”
The current library, which is hidden in a small strip mall across the same intersection, is one of the busiest branches among the 34 libraries in the county. The branch celebrated its 50th anniversary in January 2024.
The new location will provide two large study rooms, a quiet room, separate areas for teens and children, additional public computers, and a multi-use community room, according to the county library.
Although the renovation plan is still being finalized, Renfro said the “more modern-looking building” will have many windows, bringing in lots of natural light to create a warm, and welcoming experience for visitors. The furniture and shelves will be brand new, Renfro said, but the mural in the children’s section, which was painted by Politi specifically for the branch, will be moved to the new home.
Since the new place is leased, the renovation will mainly focus on the interior, and there will be no significant changes to the exterior, Renfro said.
While the relocation hasn’t taken place, the lease has been in effect for nearly a year since the $7.8 million, 10-year lease agreement was approved by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors in August last year.
Renfro said the county doesn’t have an anticipated relocation schedule, but the project is making progress, and the architectural design and construction are being handled by a private firm.
The building owner, Jeff & Velvet Jue Family Trust, is responsible for paying an estimated $1.29 million in improvements needed to make the space suitable for a public library, according to the lease agreement.
Renfro said several libraries in the county are under construction. Clovis and Reedley libraries are getting new branches, and Selma Library is closed for renovation, she said.
“So when this building became available, it was just one of those things where, ‘Hey, it’s available, you got to jump on it. Get it now before someone else does,’” said Renfro. “We have other projects that were already in the works that need to be focused on before we can start this one.”
Renfro said the Politi Library project is moving forward and is ahead of the ground-up builds in Clovis and Reedley because it is a renovation rather than new construction.
The county library also wants to develop a thorough plan that not only serves the community for now, but also predicts the needs in the future, Renfro said.
“It takes time to really sit down and figure out, what this is going to look like, what’s the layout, what are the doors at, where’s the best place to put the community room. Because whenever we invest in a new location, or any of our locations, we’re probably gonna be there for a significant amount of time,” she said.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated.
This story was originally published August 3, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
