The Ottawa Public Library will be underspending by $5.75 million this year, primarily due to delays in opening its central branch, the long-awaited Ādisōke library.
That represents a 7.7 per cent surplus against budgeted expenditures, according to a financial status report set to be tabled at the Nov. 10 meeting of the Ottawa Public Library board.
The anticipated surplus is the result of “underspending in two categories” related to the delay in opening the central branch, with savings in facility overhead, such as utilities and maintenance, and in lower compensation costs from salaries and benefits.
Expenditures for circulating library materials were fully expended in 2025 and are expected to be expended again by the end of 2026, according to the financial forecast.
By the end of 2026, the net operating budget and City of Ottawa contribution is expected to be in a surplus of $5.715 million, or 8.3 per cent of the total budget.
“It is expected that at year-end a portion of the revenues from the city for the central branch at Ādisōke will be returned to the city as not all funds are required in this fiscal year due to delayed timelines for substantial completion,” according to the staff report.
Staff asked for another $18.5 million in funding on the downtown “super library” in May as the project continued to face construction delays and cost overruns.
The project was facing “continued construction pressures” and an extended timeline that is running about one year behind schedule.
Council was told in December 2025 that the library would not be ready to open in 2026 as initially planned.
The builder, PCL Construction, began construction on the site at 555 Albert St. in 2021.
The project was budgeted at $334 million to be shared by the city and the federal government. Council approved another $11.5 million for the city’s share of the project, with another $7 million from Library and Archives Canada’s share of the project.
Meanwhile, the library’s Sunnyside branch will be closing for about six months in the spring or summer of 2027, according to a separate report to the library board.
The building at Bank Street and Echo Drive was constructed in 1951 and requires “significant lifecycle renewal to support its continued long-term use,” the report stated.
The Sunnyside branch requires roof replacement, window replacement, masonry restoration, and related building-envelope improvements, staff said, and additional sanitary infrastructure work may also be completed during renovations.
The work will require the branch to close temporarily as it is expected to involve “significant contractor access, equipment, vehicles, material staging, and waste containers across the site.”
City staff said they are looking for a dedicated temporary location within the Sunnyside area.
