The permeable pavers cut an impressive swath in the 75-car western parking lot where the electric car charger sits.  They also grace the entryway.

“That took care of a lot of rain last week,” said Bayport-Blue Point Library director Mike Firestone. “We had to do permeable pavers because of the high water table here. It’s more sustainable and there’s less runoff.”

For those who love their java, “we’re almost ready to sign a lease with a vendor for the café, so it will be operational from our Day One opening,” Firestone added.

A stroll with Firestone where the Bayport-Blue Point Library will be relocated revealed completed areas like the mezzanine, now a large, bright, expansive area, which formerly housed bedrooms for the St. Ursula sisters.

“There will be the book stacks here,” he said, pointing to the lower-floor mezzanine space with its abundant windows. “Overhead, we’ll have two quiet study areas.”

The vast children’s room, about 10,000 square feet, was being carpeted. “Where the youngsters will hang out will have carpet, but the main corridor is vinyl tile,” Firestone continued. A light-grey and blue color scheme is carried throughout the new library building.

The upstairs floors are completed.

“The subfloor is wood, and we have carpet tiles and a laminate floor over the subfloor,” he said.  The walls are a light gray. “It’s a primer and first coat of paint; once we have furniture in place, another coat will be applied to finish it off.”

The Makerspace is roomy and eye-catching, with gray and blue vinyl tiles. “We wanted something a little more industrial and with a little more pizzaz,” Firestone said of the tiles. “The furniture will have an industrial feel.”

Wow! The Gene Horton Local History Room would make the beloved Blue Point historian beam with its six windows, three large ones overlooking Blue Point Avenue, and galloping space. “It’s 800 square feet,” Firestone said of the room. “The windows are getting a UV coating to protect the old historical books from the light.”

A note about the beloved local historian. Horton’s research started when he noticed stacks of old newspapers thrown out at the curb during walks; he brought them home, culled through them, then saved and extracted facts and started writing about the area. Horton, a retired teacher, would also lecture and lead history tours regularly. You would also see him drive up to local events steering the wheel of his Model T. He published three books on the area and wrote a regular column for local newspapers. A resident of Blue Point Avenue, he died in 2019, but the Gene Horton Collections—over 300 newspaper clippings, articles, booklets, letters and photographs detailing Blue Point’s history in the early 20^th century—had already been sequestered in BBP Library’s Blue Point Avenue location, and would be transferred over to the Middle Road site. With plenty of room.

Parking at the new location won’t be an issue; besides the 75-space lot, an area has also been set aside for 15 cars in the front and 20 vehicles on the east side, plus a couple of spaces with a turnaround for the Blue Point Fire Department

Grants raised to help with library costs tallied in at $1.2 million. The property, purchased from the St. Ursula Sisters of Tildonk in 2018 cost $3.65 million, with construction costing $13.2 million.

As for the opening, get ready. “It will open early October,” Firestone said.