SEE: Sunset Park's New Library Designs Unveiled

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — Architects gave the first look this week at what residents can expect to find in the long-awaited new Sunset Park library branch, which will open in 2021.

The new facility, which will be built on the first floors of an eight-story affordable housing building, will replace the more than 40-year-old library branch on Fourth Avenue.

Since announcing the plans for the rebuild, Brooklyn Public Library officials have been hard at work collecting feedback about how to design the new branch, which officials broke ground on earlier this year. The library distributed surveys, held focus groups, hosted public workshops in four languages and other meetings to hear from 350 people, officials said.

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That feedback helped architects come up with their preliminary designs for the 20,000-square-foot space, which they showed residents at an event on Tuesday.

The new space includes a children's area, an adult area and a teen's area.

Here's a look at the different rooms:

(Mitchell Giurgola/Brooklyn Public Library) The first floor service area.

(Mitchell Giurgola/Brooklyn Public Library) Cellar floor reading area.

(Mitchell Giurgola/Brooklyn Public Library) Teen seating area.

(Mitchell Giurgola/Brooklyn Public Library) Teen reading area.

(Mitchell Giurgola/Brooklyn Public Library) Children's reading area.

(Mitchell Giurgola/Brooklyn Public Library) Children's play area.

The space also has room for some specific programming, including an English conversation area and a kid's program area, renderings show.

(Mitchell Giurgola/Brooklyn Public Library) English conversation area.

(Mitchell Giurgola/Brooklyn Public Library) Kid's play program.

Library officials have said that the new facility will help the Sunset Park branch keep up with its growing demand.

Brooklyn Public Library President Linda Johnson said at the groundbreaking that the Sunset Park Library is one of Brooklyn's busiest libraries and the now-demolished old building used to struggle to keep up. The library has been operating out of a temporary location after the old building was demolished in early 2018.

Johnson said the old library had issues with heating and air conditioning and wasn't fully equipped for today's technology. It had only 12 electrical outlets, she said.

The library project will come with 49 units of affordable housing in its building. The housing portion will be a mix of studios, one, two and three-bedroom apartments that will be available to those making 30 to 80 percent of the area median income. Most units are reserved for those below 50 percent, meaning they will pay between $500 to $1,000 per month.

The $35-million project includes funding from state grants, state and federal tax credits, the city, local council members and the borough president.