Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 12, December 2003
Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article below in your research. Be sure to cite the Seattle Sun as your source.
LAND USE:
Work proceeds on library projects
By CLAYTON PARK
BALLARD:
The design of the new Ballard Library was recently unveiled by project architect David Cinamon of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.
The new building, located at 5614 22nd Ave. NW, will feature a green roof, natural lighting, a covered porch area along 22nd Avenue NW, and a low roof section that designed to provide an intimate setting for reading and study along the north wall.
The new 15,000-square-foot Ballard Library will be more than twice the size of the neighborhood's current branch library at 5711 24th Ave. NW.
The old Ballard Library will remain open during the construction of the new branch, which is set to begin in early 2004, with completion set for mid-2005.
The total cost of the project, said library spokeswoman Caroline Young Ullmann, is $10.9 million. A general contractor has yet to be selected. The Seattle Public Library has set a deadline for receiving bids of 2 p.m., Nov. 25.
The new Ballard Library is one of several projects either already underway or slated to begin in the coming months in North Seattle for the Seattle Public Library System.
LAKE CITY:
The City will begin soliciting bids in late November from contractors for the project to expand the Lake City Branch Library with an addition that will include the new home of the Lake City Neighborhood Service Center, a public plaza and an expansion of an adjacent park. The expanded Lake City Library will be 15,000 square feet, up from the library's present size of 9,013 square feet.
The cost of the library portion of the project is expected to be $3.78 million.
Ullmann said the current Lake City Library will remain open until early next year, with a closing date possibly occurring in February.
GREENWOOD:
The Seattle Public Library began accepting bids from contractors for the new Greenwood Branch Library on Oct. 30.
The current library closed Nov. 1. Demolition of the 7,094-square-foot building and an old single-family house next door that the library purchased is set to begin late this year, to be followed by construction of the new $7.13 million 15,000-square-foot Greenwood Library building. Completion of the project is set for late 2004.
NORTH EAST:
Construction of the new expanded North East Library is well underway with a completion date set for mid-2004.
The old 7,042-square-foot North East Library, located in the Wedgwood neigborhood, closed April 19 and was the busiest branch in the city, outside of the Central Library in downtown Seattle, Ullmann said.
The new $4.76 million 15,000-square-foot library will open in mid-2004.
GREEN LAKE:
The project to renovate the historic Green Lake Branch Library is in its final stages, with a date for reopening set for early 2004.
The $1.1 million project involved interior renovations and replacement of windows.
The 8,090-square-foot Green Lake branch, which originally opened in 1910, is a Carnegie-built library that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
FREMONT:
The Fremont Branch Library, also a historic Carnegie library, which opened in 1921, is also scheduled to undergo interior renovations. The 6,060-square-foot branch is expected to remain open until next spring. The project would increase the square footage to 6,840 square feet without altering the building's exterior by converting a storage area into space for the public and staff. The price tag for the project has been set at $579,076.
NORTHGATE:
The project to build a new permanent Northgate Branch Library is still in the design stage. A public meeting was held Nov. 5 to present the completed schematic designs for the proposed 10,000-square-foot building. Another public meeting to present designs for the library will be held in the spring.
No date has been set as of yet for beginning construction, but Ullmann said the project is expected to be completed in late 2005.
The project will be built on a property known as the former Bon Tire site, along Fifth Avenue NE, across the street from Northgate Mall. It will include a new Northgate Community Center and a new Northgate Community Park. The library portion of the project is expected to cost $5.87 million.
A temporary Northgate Branch Library opened April 28 in a former bank building that is also located on the Bon Tire site property. The temporary branch will close sometime next year when construction of the permanent library begins.