After more than a year of service, The Seattle Public Library’s Northgate Temporary Service Site, 10548 Fifth Ave. N.E., will close for good at 6 p.m. Friday, June 25 to prepare for construction of the new Northgate Branch at the same location.
The temporary service site opened April 28, 2003, to help provide service to North Seattle patrons while the North East and Green Lake branches were closed for construction as part of the “Libraries for All” building program.
The renovated Green Lake Branch, 7364 E. Green Lake Dr. N., reopened March 6, 2004. The expanded North East Branch, 6801 35th Ave. N.E., will reopen at noon Saturday, June 26.
The temporary service site is located in a former bank building on the site of the future Northgate Branch, community center and park. The Library is partnering with Seattle Parks and Recreation on the project.
The Library/Parks project includes building a 10,000-square-foot branch 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.
Construction work is expected to begin in late summer after the Library and Parks acquire a building permit and hire a general contractor. The new branch, community center and park are projected to be finished in the second half of 2005. For more information about the project, visit the Library’s Web site at www.spl.org and select “Libraries for All Building Program.”
Funding for the new facilities comes from several sources.
Voters in 1998 approved the “Libraries for All” bond measure to improve The Seattle Public Library system. The plan included building a new library in Northgate. The branch 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.
At its April 2004 meeting, The Seattle Public Library board of trustees revised the budget for capital costs for the branch from $5,874,596 to $6,043,570 to pay for costs for moving, abatement, site planning and Fifth Avenue Northeast street improvements.
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.
(For more information, call Caroline Young Ullmann, communications assistant, 206-615-1627.)
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Content modified: 9 June 2004
12/30/2005
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