By MATT PATNEAUDE

The new Greenwood Library has a home. After months of exploring potential locations for the new library, the Library Board has voted to construct the facility at the McDonald's site located at 8533 Greenwood Ave. N.

The site also includes the parking lot adjacent to the fast food restaurant. Set to open in 2002, the new library will cover 15,000 square feet. That is more than double the size of the current Greenwood Library.

Three finalist sites were under consideration by the Library Board. The others were the library's present location at 8016 Greenwood Ave. N. and the Medicine Man Pharmacy at North 85th and Dayton Avenue N.

Francesca Wainwright, Greenwood Library branch manager, said she is pleased with the Board's decision. She said the McDonald's site "has the necessary space to provide the architects with flexibility in their design." Wainwright believes that the other sites may have limited the architects.

Gary Teachout, president of Friends of the Greenwood Library, said that locating the library in the Greenwood neighborhood's downtown core - the area immediately surrounding the intersection of North 85th and Greenwood Avenue N - will be good for the business community. Friends of the Greenwood Library is a community group advising plans of the new library.Teachout adds that the McDonald's site has good bus and pedestrian access.

However, others such as Ann Woodward, who like Teachout is a board member for the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce, believe that the downtown Greenwood is too congested for the construction of a new library.

Woodward said she would have preferred the new library be built at the current library site because it is in a more residential neighborhood and is close to area schools. She says that she probably won't let her children walk to the new library because crossing North 85th is a safety concern.

Then there are the people who have turned the Greenwood McDonald's into a part of their daily routine. Earl Gumm, who has lived in Greenwood since 1937, visits the McDonald's nearly every day. He said that many people will miss the McDonald's because it gives them a place to go and meet with each other. "A lot of elderly people come here every day for breakfast or lunch. It provides a place just to get out," he said.

Greenwood Community Council president Michael McGinn believes the new library will be good for downtown Greenwood. He said the challenge with construction of the library is making sure it works for the community in regards to traffic and congestion concerns.

Library staff will now begin negotiations with the property owners to buy the McDonald's site and set up a timetable for demolition of the restaurant. The $6.4 million library is part of the 1998 "Libraries for All" bond measure passed by Seattle voters.

Beginning in September, area residents can attend "hopes and dreams" meetings to share their ideas about what they would like to see included in the new Greenwood Library. The library will include large areas for children and teens, upgraded computer workstations, and expanded book collections.

Wainwright said that the new library will include designated quiet areas and a state of the art community meeting room. "It's really very exciting," she said.