Twenty years passed between the vote that paid for this building and the day the doors opened. That is not a criticism of anyone. It is a useful thing for a business audience to understand about how public buildings actually get built.
At a glance
What: the replacement Midlothian Library, about 25,000 square feet
Where: 100 Millworks Crossing, Midlothian, VA 23114 · 804-751-2275
Opened: Wednesday, January 31, 2024, with a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m.
Replaced: a 1980 building of 5,000 square feet, expanded to 15,000 in 1995, on the same site next to J.B. Watkins Elementary
Cost: about $18 million, as reported at the groundbreaking
Architect: HBA Architecture & Interior Design · General contractor: Loughridge & Company
Current hours: Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sunday
The twenty years
Voters approved the funding in the 2004 bond referendum. The 2008 downturn put the project on the shelf. It sat there until 2015, when newly elected Midlothian District Supervisor Leslie Haley began pressing to get it back into the county's capital improvement program. Groundbreaking came in September 2022; the old building had closed to the public on December 30, 2021 and was demolished in August 2022 after more than forty years on the site.
Supervisor Mark Miller and former Supervisor Haley both took part in the ribbon-cutting.
For anyone who has ever wondered why a county project seems to move slowly, this is the honest shape of it: a referendum, a recession, a decade of dormancy, an advocate, and then three years from revival to ribbon.
What is in it
A large community meeting room, plus multiple meeting and study spaces equipped for virtual and in-person use
A children's interactive indoor learning area and a digital media center
Teen gathering spaces with device charging
An outdoor reading garden and an outdoor classroom with musical sculptures and climbing structures
A rooftop solar array projected to supply roughly 100 percent of the building's annual energy use
A walking path to J.B. Watkins Elementary, with wildlife tracks and flower-shaped musical instruments set into it
A lobby mural by artist Matt Lively, depicting the Midlothian coal mines from before 1730 to 1924
An entry plaza with drive-up book returns and an after-hours media kiosk, a "clamber corner" modeled on local mining ruins, and a sundial oculus in the outdoor classroom
The county notes what is within walking distance: several county schools, a Brightpoint Community College site, the YMCA, and Mid-Lothian Mines Park.
The part a business owner needs
Meeting space at Chesterfield libraries is free. In the library's own words, "There is no charge to reserve or use a meeting space."
There is one rule that matters more than any other to this audience, and it is worth quoting exactly, from the county's Reservable Spaces Policy:
For-profit businesses may only reserve the Chesterfield Business Suite.
And:
Reservable spaces may not be used for commercial activity. The exchange of money for admission, participation, donations, fundraising or commercial goods or services is prohibited.
So the community room and the meeting rooms are open to civic groups, nonprofits and individuals at no charge. A for-profit business is limited to the Chesterfield Business Suite, which the policy describes as a space "which may be used by for-profit businesses to conduct interviews, training, or any other business activity without exchange of money."
Worth a phone call before you plan around it: the county's published policy defines the Business Suite system-wide but does not say which branches have one. Call 804-751-2275 and ask whether Midlothian has one before you build a plan around it.
The four space types, system-wide
Space | Capacity |
|---|---|
Chesterfield Business Suite | The only space a for-profit business may reserve |
Community Room | The largest at each library, up to about 80 people depending on table configuration |
Meeting Room | Five or more, up to about 12 depending on the room |
Study Room | Up to four, typically one or two |
The rules that trip people up
Events must be free and open to the public. Staff and members of the public may enter a reserved space at any time.
No partisan activities. No social events — no parties, showers, weddings, funerals, birthdays or family reunions.
No alcohol, no open flames. Cooked food and food delivery are permitted; staff will not interact with vendors or help with setup or cleanup.
Publicity may not imply library sponsorship. You may name the room and the location; you may not use library contact details or logos.
Setup and cleanup happen inside your reserved block. You cannot get in early, and the room must be back to its original condition before your end time.
Nothing may be stored in a meeting room between bookings.
How to reserve
Online through the library's reservation system, or by calling 804-751-2275. Up to 90 days ahead, and no later than 24 hours before the start. A maximum of five active reservations per person or group across the whole library system in any rolling 90-day window.
Two things catch people out. Submitting is not booking — a staff member has to approve it, which can take a business day, and the confirmation comes from an automated address worth adding to your safe senders. And show up within fifteen minutes: a space left unused past that is released unless you telephone.
One more piece of realism from the policy: the library, county departments and partners such as the Friends of the Library get scheduling priority, and "availability of reservable spaces for weekly or monthly recurring programs is not guaranteed." A standing monthly meeting is not something you can lock down.
Read more
Midlothian Library — hours, contact and services
Reservable Spaces Policy, No. 1.3.1 — the full rules, four pages
Last updated September 16, 2026.