The Seattle Public Library is currently seeking architect and engineering teams to provide design services for five neighborhood library projects. The building improvements are being funded through the $196.4 million voter-approved "Libraries for All" bond measure passed in 1998.
Architect/engineering teams are being sought for the expansions of the existing North East, Rainier Beach, Columbia City and Douglass-Truth libraries, as well as to design interior space for the new International District library, which will be located in a mixed-use project.
The 7,042-square-foot North East Library, 6801 35th Ave. N.E., was built in 1954 to serve the Wedgwood, Hawthorne Hills, and Ravenna-Bryant neighborhoods. Aside from the Central Library, North East is the busiest Library in the system. The $4.6 million building renovation will feature nearly 8,000 square feet of additional space, greater seating and book collection areas, new computer workstations, more parking and a meeting room for literary programs and community events. The project was originally slated to be completed in 2003, but will be finished in 2002.
The 9,007-square-foot Rainier Beach Library, 9125 Rainier Ave. S., was built in 1981. It is located in the Rainier Beach commercial area on the shores of Lake Washington. Seward Park, Pritchard Island, and the Kubota Gardens are nearby. The Rainier Beach Library improvements will include nearly 6,000 square feet in additional space, more room for books and seating, upgraded technology and a more efficient circulation desk. The $3 million expansion, originally scheduled to be finished in 2007, will be completed in 2002.
At 5,838 square feet, the Columbia City Library, 4721 Rainier Ave. S., opened in 1915, is the smallest of the Seattle branch libraries funded by Carnegie grants. The library serves a large number of Asian-language readers, as well as immigrants from many countries seeking materials on citizenship and English-as-a-second-language programs. The expansion will increase the building by 5,440 square feet to add more room for books, computers, seating, efficient lobby, better access for the disabled and additional parking. The $3.2 million project is slated to be completed in 2003.
The Douglass-Truth Library, 2300 E. Yesler Way, which opened its doors in 1914, is currently 8,008 square feet. The nearly 7,000-square-foot expansion will provide more space and storage for the African-American collection, a new children's area, as well as additional seating, more room for books and additional computer work stations. The $3.5 million project will be completed in 2003.
The new 4,000-square-foot International District Library is being developed in partnership with Seattle Chinatown/International District Preservation and Development Authority. The $289,00 Library project will be part of a five-story complex known as International District Village Square II, built between south Lane and Dearborn streets and Seventh and Eighth avenues south. The complex, scheduled to open in 2003, also will include 57 units of low-income housing, a community center, retail space, underground parking and a plaza. The library will lease the space from the Seattle Chinatown/International District Preservation and Development Authority. The library will provide seating for up to 40 patrons, capacity for a specialized collection of 12,000 books, modern technology services and equipment, access to a multipurpose meeting room, and computer work stations and instruction areas.
Interested firms can get more information off the Library's Web site at www.spl.org and select "Libraries for All," or by calling the Capital Program Office at 206-386-4624.
Proposals of qualification must be delivered by 2 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2000, to Seattle Public Library, Capital Program Office, Capital Program Director Alexandra Harris, 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle, Wash. 98104.
(For more information, call Andra Addison, communications director, at 206-386-4103, or andra.addison@spl.org.)
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Content modified: 16 November 2000
12/30/2005
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