The Summit County Library's Kimball Junction branch will shut its doors at the Sheldon Richins Building on August 15, and plans to reopen across Landmark Drive at the PEAK Center by September 11, a date Library Director Dan Compton described as a target at the July 16 library board meeting.
Before the move begins, Compton wants the community's help shrinking the branch's 42,000-item collection.
The library is running a "Check Out the Move" initiative from August 1 through August 15. Patrons can check out up to 50 books per card. Participants may receive a free book bag and sticker, and all items are due back in early October at the new location.
"So there's two weeks there that we're going to encourage as many people as possible to come in and check out their max books that they can," Compton said at the July 16 board meeting. "It's 50 per card."
During the closure, books on hold will be available via Summit County's bookmobile parked outside the Richins Building, though hours will be limited. The Kamas and Coalville branches will remain open.
Staff and volunteers, including local Rotarians, are scheduled to begin moving out of the Richins Building on August 17. The PEAK Center, the former Skullcandy headquarters in Kimball Junction, will serve as the branch's new home. Whether the PEAK Center is a permanent location or an interim stop while the broader Kimball Junction redevelopment proceeds has not been publicly clarified.
Summit County also plans a ceremonial "book brigade" for its 24 "One Book, One Community" titles, a countywide reading program running since 2003, timed to the PEAK Center's grand opening in September. A firm date has not been set.
The DMV office housed in the Richins Building is also targeting early to mid-August for its own move to the PEAK Center, according to Summit County Treasurer Corrie Forsling. That timeline is less certain because it requires coordination with state officials.
What comes next for the Richins Building
The Sheldon Richins Building will eventually be demolished as part of a broader Kimball Junction redevelopment. Summit County is partnering with a developer to replace the site with a mixed-use plaza featuring housing, businesses, and services, plus a pedestrian bridge across State Route 224. The nearby transit center will expand and shift south, connected to a parking garage beneath the new plaza.
The Kimball Junction Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone, approved by the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity on June 29, encompasses about 60 acres and calls for more than 800 new dwelling units. Of those, 500 are designated as deed-restricted workforce housing.
No demolition date for the Richins Building has been announced.
