By LORRAINE SWANSON
Editor
The Edgewater Branch Libary has one of the highest circulation rates of the city's neighborhood libraries.
Edgewater took a giant step closer toward getting a new branch library. The Chicago City Council approved an ordinance designating land for a Chicago Public Library in the Edgewater community during its regular council meeting on Nov. 18.
Passage of the ordinance authorizes the Chicago Public Building Commission, the city agency responsible for managing public construction projects, to begin sales negotiations with a local private owner of a property located at 6014-16 N. Broadway. Construction of the new branch library will not affect or displace neighborhood favorite Patio Beef which sits adjacent to the proposed lot.
Preliminary plans for the new Edgewater Branch library call for a two-story, 17,500-square-foot structure. The project will be designed to achieve “Silver” level certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. The proposed building is one of the PBC’s prototype designs, similar to the new, Wicker Park-Bucktown Branch Library.
Site plan for proposed Edgewater Branch Library. Plans call for a two-story, 17,500-square-foot building. The Chicago City Council approve a land acquisition ordinance earlier this month.
“We’ve been looking at getting a new library built in Edgewater for years,” said Doug Fraser, chief of staff for Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th Ward). “A lot goes on in the library, afterschool programs and a variety of other things.”
The existing library will be demolished and construction of the new building will take between eight to ten months. After city acquisition of the Broadway property is finalized, the Chicago Department of Community Development will issue a request for proposals to prospective constructors. Total cost of the new Edgewater Branch Library is expected to be between $10 million and $12 million.Fraser said that existing programs at the Edgewater library will be temporarily relocated to other venues during construction.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Fraser said.
The proposed branch library is designed by the Chicago-based architectural firm Lohan Anderson LLC. While the city’s preference is for one-story library structures, Fraser said that because of the small land footprint, the library will be built up, giving the Edgewater “more bang for its buck.”
“The build-up is not to [the Public Building Commission’s] preference but it will work,” Fraser continued. “There will be more space for books and more rooms for community activities. The library is always full and this will allow space for more people and more things to go on.”
New branch libraries are typically funded by general obligation bonds. Approximately $1.125 million will be ported from the Bryn Mawr TIF to the Hollywood-Sheridan TIF to cover land acquisition costs. According to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, the property at 6014-6016 was sold for the amount of $640,000 in 2005.
Fraser said porting money from Bryn Mawr TIF was discussed at 26 community meetings held in 2007, to discuss implementation and planning of the Hollywood-Sheridan TIF District.
“We had explicitly stated in two instances in which we might port large sums [to the Hollywood-Sheridan TIF District],” Fraser said. “One was for the library and the other was to rehab McCutcheon Elementary School.”
The proposed Edgewater Branch Library will be built according to one of the Public Building Commission's prototype designs for a two-story library building, similar to the Bucktown-Wicker Park Branch (Courtesy of Chicago Public Library).
Fraser did not know when bidding or construction will get underway because land acquisition negotiations have not yet taken place.
Ruth Lednicer, director of marketing and press for the Chicago Public Library, said that the Edgewater Branch Library has one of the highest circulations of neighborhood libraries in the city. CPL measures usage in a number of categories, such as book and DVD circulation, foot traffic and public computer use.
“In Edgewater we see people doing both,” Lednicer said. “Edgewater patrons check out a lot of items and use holds for books and movies. [A new branch library] has been on our wish list for quite awhile.”
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It’s too bad the old branch, which is one of the most convenient on the north side (being right on my way home) has to be demolished while the new one is being built, but it’s necessary.
I’m glad a new branch is being built, though. The existing building is inadequate.
This is an appropriate use of public money, for the library is an essential urban amenity available to all citizens for a very low cost to us all. However, it’s sad to see library hours cut back because of budgetary constraints, and it wouldn’t be necessary if our money was allocated properly to begin with.
Based on the site plan shown, we are losing a building on Broadway (home to a barber shop and restaurant) for a parking lot. I don’t believe a new library requires 16 parking spaces (twice as many as the current building) or that another parking lot is what Broadway needs.
The city should go back to the drawing board and come up with a two-storey scheme that fits on the current footprint.
The library is a fantastic resource, the building may not be adequate but this is not the right scheme for our neighborhood.
Agree with you on the matter of parking.
Broadway definitely does not need another parking lot. This street is already ugly and unwalkable enough, a strip mall and drive-through slum.
I think that with a little additional effort on the design side we could have a project that doesn’t include demolition of an older building, that doesn’t displace tenants, nonprofit cultural groups that use the second floor of 6014-16 and that doesn’t displace existing businesses. This is a harsh economy, and for the cultural groups (a flamenco troupe and a tai chi academy) and for the businesses (a family-owned Eritrean restaurant and a Nigerian-owned barbershop) it will be really hard to pick up and move elsewhere. I agree that having a new library is a wonderful thing, but that Edgewater deserves a better thought-out design.
Everyday we read about real estate prices dropping. I guess that doesn’t hold true when the Alderman is running the show.
LEN wrote:
New branch libraries are typically funded by general obligation bonds. Approximately $1.125 million will be ported from the Bryn Mawr TIF to the Hollywood-Sheridan TIF to cover land acquisition costs. According to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, the property at 6014-6016 was sold for the amount of $640,000 in 2005.
So Mary Ann Smith and the City are paying almost double for the property than the owner paid 4 years ago. The owner has made no improvements in that time. Gee Mary Ann how about having a TIF buy my mother’s building. She’s been trying to sell it for 2 years now?