The Next Rooms at Los Altos's Libraries Are Outdoors, and Neither Is Finished Yet

Los Altos's two libraries are both getting more room this year, and the new space at each is outdoors. The Woodland Branch on Grant Road opened its Terrace and Native Habitat in August. The main library on San Antonio Road is building a courtyard facing the Heritage Orchard, with opening estimated for late fall 2026.

The ribbons get cut on a set date, but both projects are being finished on the land's schedule. At Woodland, the garden is mostly open ground, left that way until the rains come. On San Antonio Road, the courtyard's walls are glass, and the design was argued over so that the apricot trees next door stay put. Anyone who uses either branch this fall is watching a library grow outward slowly, and both projects planned it that way.

Story time ran out of room first

The main library's courtyard grew out of a crowding problem. The library's Orchard Room holds 100 people. At a joint meeting of the Los Altos Planning and Historical commissions, supporters said the regular toddler story times keep filling it. Jennifer Weeks, county librarian for the Santa Clara County Library District, described turning people away when 145 showed up to one recent event.

The courtyard roughly doubles that. The library district's plans call for seating for up to 125, plus outdoor Wi-Fi, built-in power, audiovisual equipment, adjustable shade, and space for library programs and small events. A city staff report said the courtyard's purpose is to support existing library events and make room for more programs. Earlier Town Crier coverage listed what was already crowding into the Orchard Room: toddler story times, author talks, STEM activities, and children's events. The Los Altos History Museum and library staff were also exploring orchard-history programs for children.

The Los Altos Library Endowment and the library district hired SSA Landscape Architects to design the courtyard. The project is privately funded through the Endowment, with a major gift from Hsun and Aiko Chou. Town Crier reports have put the money two ways. One says the cost is $2 million, with the Chous' $500,000 counted inside that figure. A later one describes $2 million from the Endowment plus $500,000 more from the Chou family. Either way, private funding shaped the approval process. The City Council approved the project going forward in 2023, and because no public money is involved, the final design did not have to go back to the council.

What goes up between now and opening

Construction started at the end of May. The library district's update dated Sept. 10, 2026, sets out a month-by-month sequence:

1. June: foundation work, layout and excavation.
2. July: subgrade work, then preparation for conduit, irrigation, rebar and concrete.
3. August and September: curbs, gutters, bracing and the basic structure for the pergola and seating.
4. September and October: the parts people will actually see go up, including the pergola, the glass walls and finishing touches.
5. October and November: furniture, audiovisual installation and final steps before opening.

That puts the courtyard in its most visible phase right now, in early October. The district still says "late fall 2026." The Endowment's project page says "End of 2026." Neither has announced a dedication date, so "late fall" is still an estimate.

Until then, a few practical points apply at 13 S. San Antonio Road. Library and city office hours are unchanged, and the front entrances are open. The back walkway and rear entrance are closed, and several parking spaces closest to the work are reserved for construction. Temporary fencing protects the orchard trees. Once open, the courtyard will be available during library hours, not around the clock. Inside, the library's Oil on Canvas exhibit runs Oct. 1 through Oct. 30.

A courtyard designed around the apricot trees

The site explains the glass. The courtyard sits on the library's north side, facing the Los Altos Heritage Orchard. According to the Los Altos History Museum, J. Gilbert Smith planted a Blenheim apricot orchard here, and part of it survives as the Heritage Orchard. The city bought the land in 1954 to build the Civic Center. The city's latest count puts the orchard at more than 400 trees on 2.84 acres.

At that Feb. 6 joint meeting, held before construction began, the Historical Commission approved a historical alteration permit 3-0, and the Planning Commission approved design review 4-1, for an 8,265-square-foot courtyard. Speakers both praised the library and spoke up for the orchard. Orchard supporters raised the loss of seven orchard tree spaces and three non-orchard trees, along with questions about environmental review. City staff, led by senior planner Sean Gallego, wrote that the project preserves all existing Civic Center orchard apricot trees and will not affect them.

The design reflects that balance. The library district describes glass fencing that gives clear views of the orchard and connects the new space to Los Altos history. One planning commissioner, architect Mehruss Jon Ahi, said the opposite of the orchard advocates: in his view, the design had given up too much to the orchard, pointing to smaller reading nooks and a glass wall he considered oversized. Some people found the plan too intrusive and others found it too cautious. The courtyard now going up is the compromise between them.

Woodland opened first, with its garden still to be planted

Across town, the Woodland Branch at 1975 Grant Road finished first. The city held the ribbon-cutting and open house on Saturday, Aug. 15, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Endowment reports that more than 350 people came. The terrace has shaded eating areas with tables and umbrellas, surfaces for games and chalk, and a native garden from GreenTown Los Altos.

The partners match the courtyard's. According to the Town Crier, the Endowment paid for construction, and the City of Los Altos, the library and GreenTown worked on the project together. The paper's rendering credits Natalie Tan of SSA Landscape Architects, the firm behind the main library courtyard.

The habitat garden is where the two projects differ. GreenTown calls it its second garden and describes the site as an underused outdoor area turned into a terrace and native-habitat teaching garden for South Los Altos. The garden was designed with native plant consultant Nikki Hanson of California Sisters Landscapes. In a Sept. 10 post, GreenTown said visitors would see a newly planted valley oak, mulch and plenty of open ground, and that this was intentional. GreenTown is waiting for the rains and the cooler planting season to fill the garden with California natives, with community workdays planned over the coming months and into spring.

Some color arrived before the plants. Students from St. Nicholas Catholic School in Los Altos Hills, led by Clara A., painted pots that were reused from the city, then came back over the summer to plant California natives in them. The pots now line the library wall. The Los Altos Public Arts Commission plans to have that wall painted to match the garden design. GreenTown's future plans include a milkweed nursery, a rainwater-capture feature and hands-on lessons about native habitat and water conservation.

What the coming months look like at each branch

Over the next few months, the two projects reach their next steps at different times:

• Through Oct. 30: the Oil on Canvas exhibit at the main library, with the courtyard's pergola and glass walls going up outside.
• October and November: furniture and audiovisual work in the courtyard, the last phase on the district's schedule before opening.
• Late fall 2026: the district's estimated courtyard opening, with no date announced yet.
• Rainy season into spring: GreenTown's planned community workdays to plant the Woodland habitat garden.

The library district hasn't announced a recurring program schedule for either outdoor space yet. It describes Woodland's terrace as a place to read, study and gather, and says it looks forward to sharing both spaces in the coming months. For now, a Woodland visitor this month will find a young valley oak, open mulched ground and painted pots along the wall, with the native plantings still to come once the rains arrive.

Projects like these quietly change the streets around them, whether it's a courtyard facing the orchard on San Antonio Road or a teaching garden off Grant Road. Kathleen Pasin is a third-generation local who follows Los Altos civic projects closely. If you own a home near either library and want to know what your home is worth, request a complimentary home valuation.