Baskerville House could still become the new Birmingham library, city council leader Mike Whitby has confirmed.
Coun Whitby (Con Harborne) said that although a £30 million contract has been let to turn the Grade ll listed building in Centenary Square into luxury offices there was still time for a change of heart.
The council remains in discussion with Targetfollow, the company which owns the lease on Baskerville House.
Cabinet members are expected to choose a preferred site for the new library next month, with Baskerville House one of several options.
Leaders of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition are also considering the feasibility of a Lord Richard Rogers- designed library at Eastside, which would cost more than £200 million to build if the original specifications are met.
Another option could see a new library built at Paradise Circus somewhere near the site of the existing Central Library, which would be demolished.
Identifying funding for the scheme is the biggest problem facing the cabinet.
The council is to apply to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for a grant to help meet the cost of a new library. Coun Whitby said the bid would be non-site specific, allowing the council maximum leeway to choose the best location.
Replying to Labour criticism over delays on choosing a site, Coun Whitby said: "I am not going to say anything that would jeopardise the library we all want to see.
"We are reviewing a range of options that will ensure ultimately that we have a library that will be of benefit to our citizens and adequately funded.
"It will be a cabinet decision on the basis of sound advice. It will be funded sensibly and will not be a drain on the resources of this city and at the same time will be a modern resource of which we can all be proud."
Coun Whitby claimed the council's previous Labour administration had been split over the choice of a site for the library. Although Labour earmarked land at Eastside the group was divided on the issue, he said.
He added: "Labour left us with a project that, at the most, was aspirational. There was not a penny towards it which was typical of the fiscal indiscipline driving this city."
Coun Ian Ward (Lab Shard End), Labour regeneration spokesman, said the coalition's failure to choose a site could endanger the library project.
