Library expansion progresses

Projected costs on the new Golden Gate Branch library project came in higher than expected, but officials says that's no surprise considering construction costs have been steadily rising by 15-20 percent for the past few years.

At $6.7 million, the cost of the new 17,000-square-foot facility came in at nearly $400 per square foot based on today's construction costs.

Of that, $4 million will be spent on actual construction and the remainder on permitting, furnishings, engineering fees, design, and contingency funds.

The construction will be financed with impact fees, monies paid by new construction to offset community impacts from growth. Ironically, the project itself will have to pay $363,000 in impact fees.

Expected to break ground in January, the expansion will take about 14 months to complete. The new facility, which will be built just northeast of the current 7,000-square-foot building on Coronado Boulevard, has had several setbacks since library officials first announced expansion plans in 2003. At that time, construction was slated for July 2005.

The original plan was to tear down the existing library and build a new 24,000 square foot facility, but because impact fees could not be used to replace the existing building, staff adjusted the plan to retain the old building and build a 12,000 square-foot separate addition with impact fees.

Local civic leaders petitioned the board to increase the size of the new building to 17,000 square feet to accommodate the original 24,000 feet the community was promised. County commissioners agreed and the planned moved forward, but hit another glitch in March, when the board questioned the costs and maintenance of the building's proposed fan-shaped design.

In April, Dan Summers, of BSSW Architects, presented a more traditional rectangular design and the project moved forward.

Submitted photo

Rendering shows proposed library expansion design from an bird's-eye view. The current facility in the background.

To accommodate the square footage, the south lane of Lucerne Road will be vacated and the remaining lane will serve as a two-lane road.

The new design will include a computer lab with 18 terminals, a teen room, a young adult room, a children's room with office for children's librarian, a craft room, an adult reading area, an audio/video room as well as a large spread of shelves for traditional library books and periodicals.

The outside of the building will include landscaping and a patio area off the youth area.

The design will also provide 82 additional parking places, which will interconnect with the other buildings onsite, including the Golden Gate Substation, Golden Gate Government Complex, Golden Gate Community Center and the Wheels facility.

The current library facility will continue to serve the community throughout the construction of the new building and will be utilized for library programming after the new building is opened. Library officials say the plan is to eventually tear down the old building and expand the new facility onto that property. That won't take place for at least five years, they predicted.