CHAPEL HILL - University Mall already features one thing most malls don't: a professional stage theater, Deep Dish Theater Company, which has operated from the mall's west wing for years.

By the first of next year, the shopping center will be home to another amenity you don't often find in a mall.

The Chapel Hill Public Library plans to move into University Mall during construction of the expansion of the existing library building. The expansion project is expected to begin by the end of this year and continue for approximately 18 months.

Town Manager Roger L. Stancil said that negotiations are being finalized with real estate development firm Madison Marquette to lease 11,000 square feet at the mall while the expansion proceeds.

"We've been looking at our options for a long time," Stancil said. "The library project was put on hold for a while, as you know, and over time opportunities disappear. At one point, for example, we thought about where Earthfare used to be, at Eastgate shopping center. Now, of course, that's Trader Joe's.

"In the end, this is a really good arrangement for us and, hopefully, for University Mall. It's consistent with our interest in economic development and diversifying the tax base, and clearly they consider it consistent with their plans for the mall."

The library's temporary space will be in the west end of the mall between Deep Dish and Cameron's, where the Hungate's craft and hobby store used to be. About 70 percent of the library's collection will be moved into that space and will be available for library patrons to borrow. The remaining 30 percent will be put into storage until the library moves its operations back into its expanded building.

The Chapel Hill Public Library is the busiest public library per capita in North Carolina, serving an average of 1,085 visitors per day.

"The town had a need, and we're glad to be a part of solving it," said Peter de Leon, general manager of University Mall. "They were looking for space and parking, and we were able to provide that. We want to be a good corporate citizen.

"On the financial side the library averages almost 1,100 unique visitors a day, and that will give us more traffic inside the mall, which is good for our tenants."

De Leon said the library will complement other improvements the mall is making, including a new vehicular entrance off Fordham Boulevard and renovations to the building's entrances.

Stancil said the town considered leaving the library's collections and operations where they are and, in effect, building the expansion project around them.

"We decided that wasn't the way to go," he said. "There would be a risk with that many people around a construction site, and we can save four to six months of construction time if we move everything out of the way."

Stancil said terms of the lease agreement with Madison Marquette haven't yet been finalized.

Chapel Hill residents approved bond funds in November 2003 to support the $16.26 million library expansion project. Due to budgetary concerns created by the global economic crisis, the issuance of the bonds was delayed for about two years, but in June, the Town Council gave the project the go-ahead.

The sale of the bonds is scheduled for September. Following final design plans and issuance of bids, construction may begin in December.

The 27,000 square foot Chapel Hill Public Library was built in 1994 in the northeast section of Pritchard Park, a 32-acre public park with nature and walking trails. The library construction expansion program will add 35,500 square feet to the library building, along with an art garden.