Bridgeport Public Library held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for its East Side branch renovation project on East Main Street.

The building was acquired by the city in 2016 and was formerly a Salvation Army store. In 2019, the city did an initial renovation of the ground floor so it could provide library services to the community.

Officials say they always planned on doing a phase two renovation which includes an elevator, community room and a dedicated section for children.

"We are going to add a second floor which will be for children and teens so they will have an expanded floor area,” says city librarian Elaine Braithwaite. "They'll have two study rooms and a podcasting audio-visual room."

The library will close during the renovation and is expected to reopen this spring.