California State Library awards Coachella $4.5 million to renovate old library

Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez announced in a recent Facebook post that California State Library has awarded the city of Coachella $4.5 million for the renovation of the old Coachella library on Seventh St.

Earlier this year, the library began being utilized as a College of the Desert facility, offering places to study, career and personal counseling, as well as a food pantry.

Prior to the college leasing the space, the property was vacant. The city of Coachella entered a lease agreement starting last summer and ending Oct. 31, 2022.

The original Coachella Library opened in City Hall in 1957. In 1981, the library moved to 7th Street in the old 1st Presbyterian Church where it served the public until 2018, when the city of Coachella opened its new library on 6th Street.