Salt Lake County libraries are on the cusp of multimillion-dollar improvements, with one suburban branch set to get a major overhaul.

The Salt Lake County Municipal Building Authority plans to issue $65 million in bonds to finance the remodel of the county library’s West Valley City branch and the library system’s operations center, according to a notice issued by the panel last week. The bond revenue will also pay for improvements to library branches in Kearns and Sandy.

The library projects have been in the works for a while, Robin Chalhoub, the county’s director of community services, said in a Feb. 24 County Council meeting. The West Valley City branch upgrades alone took about a decade to come together, Chalhoub added.

The bonds will be repaid through lease payments from the county to the municipal building authority, Salt Lake County Deputy Mayor of Finance Darrin Casper said.

The remodel of the West Valley branch at 2880 W. 3650 South will nearly double the size of the facility, creating between 22,000 and 25,000 square feet of “modern library” space, county library Director Joey McNamee said during a presentation to the council.

The upgraded facility will also include rehearsal space and studios upstairs for Ballet West, which is setting up an academy in the area, McNamee added. The library will share a black box theater with Ballet West for performances.

The West Valley branch renovation will total about $40 million, with $10 million contributed by Ballet West and $30 million funded by the bond revenue, according to McNamee’s presentation.

Michael Scolamiero, executive director of Ballet West, said during the Feb. 24 meeting that his organization already has a strong relationship with the county as a long-standing tenant at two county facilities. He said that the existing relationship is a “strong indicator” of the future success of the library project.

“With a growing community, Ballet West has a goal of broadening access to dance education for future generations of dancers,” Scolamiero said. “... Upon completion, our new campus will serve the entire southwest valley, opening untold possibilities and access to communities currently without access to performing arts and dance in particular.”

Beyond the West Valley City branch, bond revenue will fund repairs and a minor “face-lift” at the Sandy branch; remodel the library system’s operations center, where the system’s collection is catalogued; and provide a final payment for previous improvements to the Kearns branch, McNamee said.

“We are so excited to get these buildings out into the community,” Chalhoub, the community services director, said. “We want to really provide a welcoming community space for our residents, and they are looking for that as a third place for people to come and gather and connect.”