Press Release

13 September 2003

PUBLIC INVITED TO NOV. 5 PRESENTATION ON DESIGN OF NORTHGATE LIBRARY/PARKS PROJECT, STREET IMPROVEMENTS

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The Seattle Public Library, Seattle Parks and Recreation and Seattle Department of Transportation invite residents to see the first images of the new Northgate Branch, community center and park, and to learn more about street improvements planned for Fifth Avenue Northeast.

The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5 at Olympic View Elementary School, 504 N.E. 95th St., auditorium/cafeteria.

For more information, call David Kunselman, Library project manager, at (206) 386-4096, Tim Motzer, Parks project manager, at (206) 684-7060, Teresa Platt, Transportation project manager, (206) 684-3507, or visit www.spl.org, www.seattle.gov/parks or www.seattle.gov/transportation.

At the meeting, staff members from the Library, Parks and SDOT will briefly discuss the projects and architects from The Miller/Hull Partnership will walk through early designs for the branch, community center and park. Residents will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out comment forms. The Library, Parks and SDOT also will have tables with more information available about each project.

The projects include 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.

SDOT 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.

Until construction starts, the Library will operate the Northgate Temporary Service Site on the site at 10548 Fifth Ave. N.E. to help provide service to North Seattle patrons whose branches are closed for “Libraries for All” funded construction. The temporary service site is open 48 hours a week, the same as full-service branches.

The temporary site will close in summer 2004 so construction can start on the new community center, branch and park, which are projected to be finished in late 2005.

Funding for the new facilities comes from several sources.

Voters in 1998 approved the Libraries for All bond measure, which included money to build a new library in Northgate. The $5,337,075 library will include a new collection cacpacity of 40,200 books and materials, reading and homework areas for children and youth, computers, instruction areas, and a meeting room.

In 1999, Seattle voters approved the community centers levy, which included $8.2 million for a new community center in Northgate. The community center will offer activities such as teen camps, basketball leagues, classes, after-school programs, community meetings, and programs for seniors.

In 2000, Seattle voters approved the Pro Parks Levy, which included nearly $4.4 million for a new park in Northgate. The park will play an important part in addressing the open space needs of the densely developed neighborhood.

Of the $2.1 million for street improvements, $1.8 million is from a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant and the rest is from King County Metro Transit and the City of Seattle.

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 communications assistant, at 206-615-1627, or Joelle Ligon, Parks public relations specialist, 206-233-7929.)

 

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09/22/2003

Content modified: 22 September 2003