The new Vienna-Carter Library is taking shape at the corner of Maple Avenue and Center Street, with building foundations finished and a four-level parking garage partially standing.
Construction on the replacement for the former Patrick Henry Library started in December 2025 and is on schedule, according to the Fairfax County Department of Public Works project page. The county awarded the construction contract to Costello Construction of Maryland on Sept. 18, 2025, after a competitive bidding process.
The finished building will be an approximately 19,000-square-foot, one-story library with an outdoor reading and gathering space and a flexible community room open during and after library hours. The garage will hold 209 parking spaces: 125 for library visitors and staff, and 84 for the public.
Those 84 public and commuter spaces come through a joint development agreement between Fairfax County and the Town of Vienna. The county's project page describes them as parking for residents and visitors.
The old Patrick Henry Library, built in 1971 and last renovated in 1995, had 62 surface parking spaces. A traffic study found the number needed to increase to 125 to serve the library's current and future demand, the county's project page shows. Patrick Henry was one of the busiest community libraries in the Fairfax County system, operating at the level of a small regional library.
Fairfax County voters approved a $23 million Library Bond Referendum in 2020 to fund the project.
The Town of Vienna is contributing up to $5.64 million under a design and construction agreement with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. The project aims for a minimum of LEED Gold certification and Net Zero energy design, with plans for geothermal heating and cooling, photovoltaic panels and skylights in the main library space, according to county records.
With foundations and early garage work done, the library building construction phase is scheduled for fall and winter 2026, according to the county project page. Northern Virginia Magazine reported on Nov. 5 that library construction is set for fall 2026 into winter 2027. Overall project completion is scheduled for early 2028. A July 2025 posting from the Town of Vienna's economic development office had projected a summer 2027 opening, an earlier estimate.
The site is at 101 Maple Ave., next to Vienna Elementary School. Design and bidding wrapped up in July 2025. The Vienna Planning Commission, Board of Architectural Review and Town Council each approved different elements of the project in September 2024, covering zoning, exterior architecture and building setbacks.
While construction continues, a temporary 2,800-square-foot branch at Cedar Park Shopping Center, 262 Cedar Lane, is serving Vienna library users with browsing, public Wi-Fi, Chromebooks, children's story time and hold pickups. It opened in July 2025 and will stay open until the new library is finished in early 2028.
