The Seattle Public Library invites Magnolia-area residents to a public reception to meet architect finalists being considered to design the renovation of the Magnolia Branch.
The reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20 at the Magnolia Branch, 2801 34th Ave. W. The architects will display examples of their work and be available to answer questions. Attendees are encouraged to fill out comment forms. For more information, call David Kunselman, Library project manager, 206-386-4096.
An architect selection advisory panel will meet next week to evaluate the qualifications of nine firms before selecting finalists to interview and introduce to the public. Seventeen firms applied to design the renovation.
The Seattle Public Library board of trustees is expected to hear comments from the advisory panel and select an architect for the Magnolia Branch project at its meeting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave.
Community representatives serving on the advisory panel include Betty Anderson, who has lived in Magnolia for 28 years, and who for many years served as an adviser to the University of Washington Art School, and Julie Ziruolo, who recently moved with her family to Magnolia from West Virginia. Ziruolo has a 9-year-old son and is a former human services worker with Goodwill Industries.
The existing Magnolia Branch will be renovated and possibly expanded. The $875,727 renovation work includes upgrading technology services, equipment and ventilation, improving electrical, communication and computer connections, adding energy-efficient windows and new carpeting, and improving the interior layout.
The architect chosen for the project will first need to assess the feasibility of expanding the 5,904-square-foot building by 1,800 square feet. The $1,624,365 expansion work would be funded through the Opportunity Fund, a special fund created as part of the “Libraries for All” bond measure to be used for new or unanticipated neighborhood library capital needs for underserved areas of Seattle. Voters approved the $196.4 million bond measure 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.
To date, the Library has completed the Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill, Columbia, Delridge, Green Lake, High Point, NewHolly, North East, Rainier Beach, Wallingford and West Seattle branches. The new Central Library opened May 23.
The Ballard, Fremont, Greenwood, International District/Chinatown and Lake City branches are currently in the construction phase and many other branches are in various stages of planning and design.
The Seattle Public Library Foundation is in the final phase of a “Campaign for Seattle’s Public Libraries” with the goal of raising $82 million from private sources to enhance the public bond commitment. Every dollar raised will ensure a level of excellence in the library’s facilities, collections, and programs that would not be possible through its tax-based support alone.
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: 9 September 2004
12/30/2005
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