Press Release

30 December 2004

LIBRARY AND PARKS REBID THE NORTHGATE BRANCH, COMMUNITY CENTER AND PARK CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

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The Seattle Public Library and Seattle Parks and Recreation will advertise beginning Jan. 4 for general contractor bids to build the new Northgate Branch, community center and park.

Contractors are invited to submit bids by 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10. For more information, contact the project architect: Kurt Stolle, The Miller/Hull Partnership, Polson Building, 71 Columbia, 6th floor, Seattle, WA 98104, (206) 254-2024.

A pre-bid walk-through will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, at the project site at Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 105th Street. The architects and staff members from the Library and Parks will be present to review the project requirements.

It is the second time the project has gone out to bid. A bid opening on July 15, 2004, drew submittals from three general contractors that were over the construction budget, in part due to a spike in the price of steel.

Since then, the departments have taken three important steps to minimize the risk the next bids will be over budget:

· A total of $1.7 million has been added to the project. Mayor Greg Nickels added $1 million in his 2005 budget for the project. In addition, The Seattle Public Library board of trustees added $300,000 to the branch library budget and Parks added $400,000 to the budget for the park.

· The scope of the project has been reduced by approximately $1 million. The design team identified revisions that won’t affect programming or the size of the facilities. Revisions include changes in the type of heating system, roofing materials, and wall and ceiling materials. In the park, changes include the exclusion of the rain garden and the deletion of the plaza trench drains.

· The departments engaged a large general contractor to price the project before going to bid to ensure the additional money and design reductions would bring the project in line with the budget.

The estimated construction cost for the project is $8.5 million.

The project includes building a 10,000-square-foot library, a 20,000-square-foot community center and a 1.67-acre park on the site of the Goodyear store (the former Bon Tire Center) at Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 105th Street and the commercial site one lot north. Two commercial buildings on the property will be demolished.

The Seattle Department of Transportation will install street medians, sidewalks, and street trees on Fifth Avenue Northeast between Northgate Way and Northeast 105th Street, in the first phase of improvements planned for the street. A pedestrian promenade with an improved crosswalk will connect the new community center and branch with the Northgate Mall entrance.

The Miller/Hull Partnership designed the buildings and the park to create an urban gathering place for the community. The library will be prominently located along Fifth Avenue Northeast. The main reading space will be focused toward the park. The community center will be placed at the south end of the site with a children’s play area to the north to maximize the green space devoted to the park. An image of the site plan may be seen at http://www.spl.org/lfa/neighborhoodlibs/northgate/northgatedesigns.html.

The project also will include artwork for the branch library designed by glass and metal artist Dana Lynn Louis, of Portland, and artwork for the community center designed by Nikki McClure, a mixed-media artist from Olympia. The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs manages the public art program for the Library and Parks.

Construction work is expected to begin in March after a groundbreaking ceremony. The project is expected to be finished in mid-2006.

The branch library will include a new collection capacity of 40,200 books and materials, reading and homework areas for children and youth, computers, instruction areas, and a meeting room.

The community center will offer activities such as teen camps, basketball leagues, classes, after-school programs, community meetings, and programs for seniors. The park will play an important part in addressing the open space needs of the densely developed neighborhood.

For more information about "Libraries for All," visit the Library's Web site at www.spl.org; for more information about the community centers levy, please visit the Parks' Web site at http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/parks/Centers/comcenlevyprog99.htm .

 

(For more information, call Caroline Young Ullmann, Library assistant communications director , at 206-615-1627, or Joelle Ligon, Parks public relations specialist, 206-233-7929.)

 

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12/30/2005

Content modified: 4 January 2005

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