Montgomery County has issued a set of bid documents to the seven or eight potential contractors for the new Silver Spring Library, officials announced Monday night at the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board meeting.

David Dise, director for the county’s Department of General Services, said public bids are due to the county by Oct. 4, and the county expects to have a contract awarded by the end of October or early November. Dise said groundbreaking for the project is slated for late November, and — if everything goes according to plan — a ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place about two years after the groundbreaking.

The County Council has approved more than $69.5 million for the project, which will be funded by bonds, grants and tax revenue, according to the county’s website. The new library is expected to cover about 63,000 square feet and be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified.

The future Purple Line is slated to run through the ground level of the new library. The top floor, intended for public meeting space, was eliminated as a “cost containment issue” after discussions with the council about the availability of public space in Silver Spring, Dise said. The economization saved about $8 million, Dise said.

“I think the community is in full support of the library,” citizens advisory board chair Evan Glass said. “We’re saddened it has been scaled back as it has through the years, but when it is completed and full of books and full of learning with a Purple Line running underneath, it’ll be a great jewel of the community.”

krose@gazette.net