The Ballard Branch of The Seattle Public Library this week moves into the construction phase with the Library’s call for a general contractor to build a new, larger branch and neighborhood service center.
Contractors are invited to submit bids by 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25. For more information, contact the project architect: David Cinamon, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, 1932 First Ave., Suite 916, Seattle, WA 98101, (206) 256-0862.
A pre-bid meeting will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the new branch site at 22nd Avenue Northwest and Northwest 57th Street. Library staff members and the architects will be present to review the project requirements.
The new 15,000-square-foot branch, 3,000-square-foot neighborhood service center and underground parking garage will be built on a site that was formerly occupied by U.S. Bank. Demolition of the former bank building is part of the bid. The maximum allowable construction cost for the project is $5.5 million.
The new branch will have more seats, expanded reference areas, larger areas for children and young adults, more computer space, a meeting room and parking. It also will have an updated collection capacity of 66,700 books and materials. The existing 7,296-square-foot Ballard Branch at 5711 24th Ave. N.W. was built in 1963.
Architects at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson designed the building to take advantage of natural light and to create a civic presence. The roof will reach to the north to bathe the interior with indirect light and a lower roof section will provide an intimate scale for reading and study areas along the north wall. A covered porch area will provide a civic face along the main pedestrian corridor of 22nd Avenue Northwest.
A durable “green roof” will be planted with a variety of low-maintenance plant material to slow the flow of rainwater into the storm drain system, reduce the emission of heat and provide a more attractive view from taller buildings if density increases in the area. Images of the design may be viewed at http://www.spl.org/lfa/neighborhoodlibs/ballard/ballarddesigns.html.
The building also will include artwork by Fall City artist Donald Fels, who is looking at ways to collect information from the building’s micro and macro climates and translate it into a visual element within the building.
Construction work is expected to begin in early 2004, after the Library hires a general contractor and completes the permitting and approval processes.
The new $10,938,258 branch is part of the $196.4 million “Libraries for All” bond measure that Seattle voters passed in 1998. The bond money, which can be used only for construction of libraries, is funding a new central library and new and improved branches. The $72 million Seattle Center/Community Centers levy that Seattle voters passed in 1999 will fund the neighborhood service center.
On April 29, 2003, The Seattle Public Library board of trustees revised the project budget from $6,548,000 to $7,152,121 to adjust for inflation. On Oct. 28, the Library Board revised the budget to $10,938,258 to account for unanticipated costs for land and structured parking, costs associated with the co-location of a neighborhood service center and a bank (which is no longer part of the project) and costs attributed to the civic center master plan.
To date, the Library has completed the Capitol Hill, Delridge, NewHolly and Wallingford branches. The Central Library and the Ballard, Beacon Hill, Columbia, Green Lake, Greenwood, High Point, North East, Rainier Beach and West Seattle branches are currently in the construction phase and planning and design is under way for many other branches.
The Seattle Public Library Foundation is in the midst of a “Campaign for Seattle’s Public Libraries” with the goal of raising $77.5 million from private sources to enhance the public bond commitment. Every dollar raised will ensure the Library system reflects our community’s needs in buildings, books, technology and people, long into the future. For more information about “Libraries for All” or the Foundation, visit the Library’s Web site at www.spl.org.
(For more information, call Caroline Young Ullmann, communications assistant, 206-615-1627.)
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Content modified: 26 November 2003
12/30/2005
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