SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City's Ballpark neighborhood is celebrating a long-awaited addition that residents hope will transform their community. The new Ballpark Library Lab opened Friday, bringing library services to the only part of the city that previously lacked them.
"We bought our first house in the neighborhood 5 years ago... just so excited, I've been looking forward to having this community resource for a really long time," said Jennifer Jensen, who lives next door to the new library.
The facility will serve as a place for reading, storytimes, events, community gatherings, and creative activities. For many residents, it represents a significant step forward for a neighborhood in transition.
"Ever since the Bees left the stadium, we've been kinda like watching, trying to pay attention to what's going on, what's coming," said Hillary Kirkland, who owns a business in the neighborhood.
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Amy J. Hawkins, from the Ballpark Community Council, expressed her enthusiasm about the new resource.
"It's really exciting," Hawkins shared. "I look forward to holding Ballpark Community Council meetings here, I'm overjoyed.
"Libraries have been a big part of my life since I was a little kid, and so having one a block from my house, I can't be more joyful about this opportunity. It's a really, really big deal."
The library opening is part of a larger effort to revitalize the area around the stadium. Salt Lake City is working on an adaptive reuse approach for the stadium space, with the goal of creating year-round community resources.
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"This is where the kids are actually invited to play on the grass, and the parents can hang out and all of their resources are available. There's no ticket price, there's no 21 and over, this is for the community," said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
For families in the area, the library provides a much-needed resource within walking distance.
"I think it's so huge and I'm also really excited to have the library here because there are so many kids in this neighborhood, this is where young families can afford to buy houses," said Jess Oveson, who lives a block away from the library.
Noah Baskett from the Salt Lake City Public Library system highlighted the transformative potential of libraries in neighborhoods.
"You put a library in a neighborhood and just see that neighborhood take off," he said. "So we're really excited to be kind of the ground floor of what I think is a lot of excitement around this neighborhood changing for the better."
For Jensen, the library offers resources for her family's specific needs.
"We always need resources, any kind of resources, my son's got autism, want to get him back into reading. The activities I know that they do is super fun," Jensen said.
The library represents more than just books for many residents—it symbolizes hope for a neighborhood that has faced challenges.
"It has been a little quiet and sometimes doesn't always feel like the most safe neighborhood, but a library is just like the most optimum thing to happen around here," Kirkland said.
City officials indicated that more updates on the future of the Ballpark area will be coming in the next few weeks.
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