Friends of the
Boca Raton Public Library
200 NW Boca Raton Blvd. / Boca Raton, FL 33432
561-544-8596 / info@bocalibraryfriends.org
NEW DOWNTOWN LIBRARY NEWS!
NOVEMBER 2011
PGAL, the architectural firm designing the new Downtown Library, presented the "pre-final" plans for the new Downtown Library to City Council at its November 7th Workshop meeting. The design is essentially the same as the one presented at the public workshop in June. PGAL also presented its schedule for the balance of the project. The next step is submitting plans to the City for permitting. Kaufman Lynn, the contractor selected by the City to build the new Downtown Library, will provide a Guaranteed Maximum Price in February. Groundbreaking is currently scheduled for March, 2012. Completion and move-in is scheduled for March, 2013.
JUNE 2011
PGAL, the architectural firm designing the new Downtown Library, presented the elevation and exterior design for the new Downtown Library at a public meeting on June 21 at City Hall.
During the June 21st public meeting, the public had a chance to see what the library will actually look like from street level, including window layout, roof design, entranceway design and ornamental features.
APRIL 2011
PGAL, the architectural firm responsible for designing the new Downtown Library, presented the site plan and interior layout design of the library to City Council at the Council's April 11th workshop meeting. The site plan and design were the same ones presented at the March 24th public meeting. At the workshop, City Council also discussed the Friends' proposed gift of $250,000 to increase the size of the library. (The extra space is to be used to expand the multipurpose space and the Friends' used bookstore). Both PGAL (the architect) and Kaufman Lynn (the construction management firm) confirmed that $250,000 would cover the full cost of the additional space.
The Downtown Library project will now move ahead to the next design phase.
MARCH 2011
Ian Nestler, the lead architect from the firm selected to design the City's new Downtown Library, presented the latest iteration of the design for the Downtown Library at a public meeting held on Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 6:30 PM in the Boca Raton Community Center. Mr. Nestler also reported at the meeting that the library would be built using environmentally-friendly principles and materials, to LEED standards. He estimated that the cost per square foot for construction would be approximately $200 (or somewhat less).
FEBRUARY 2011
The City of Boca Raton began working with the selected architect (PGAL) to negotiate a Work Order covering the design and construction phase of the project. That work order was approved by City Council at their December 2011 meeting.
PGAL and the City met for a kick off meeting on January 6th. PGAL's contract commits it to presenting design options at multiple public meetings. Ian Nestler, the lead architect from the firm selected to design the City's new Downtown Library, presented space allocation and site plan options at the first of a series of planned public meetings held on February 1, 2011. There were approximately 80 people in attendance at the meeting, held at the Community Center in City Hall.
The architects took many comments from the public and answered questions. Mr. Nestler said that the working assumption is that the new library would be approximately 40,000 sq. ft. The current space allocation plan identifies 45,863 sq. ft. of requirements (see graphic below), leading Mr. Nestler to conclude that some "paring" will be necessary in the coming weeks to accommodate all functions.
Mr. Nestler also provided four options for locating and orienting the library on the Library Commons site.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2010
We are pleased to report that the City Council decided on September 13 to proceed with building the new Downtown Library on the Library Commons site, the site supported by the library community.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the City Council for their time and attention, and for making the right decision for the City of Boca Raton.
The Council members heeded the wishes of the library community. To quote Mayor Whelchel, "I personally believe I would be making a mistake if I did not take into consideration the opinion of those most engaged and going to bring others along and remain engaged."
We all owe a debt of gratitude to those of you who made their views known to Council through emails and letters. We also want to give a special thanks to those who took the time to attend the Council's Workshop. Next step will be the design phase of the new library. We will keep you posted!
JULY 7, 2010
ARCHITECTS PRESENT 5 SITE PLAN OPTIONS TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE NEW DOWNTOWN LIBRARY
VIEW PGAL PRESENTATION MADE AT PUBLIC MEETING ON JULY 7
MAY 19, 2010
ARCHITECTS MEET WITH THE PUBLIC TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE DESIGN PROCESS FOR THE NEW DOWNTOWN LIBRARY
VIEW PGAL PRESENTATION MADE AT PUBLIC MEETING ON MAY 19