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Plans for the new $ 23.3 million downtown library that is still more than two years from opening are starting to take shape.
Richmond-based Quinn Evans Architects is designing the new two-story library, which will be approximately two and a half times the size of the 14,500-square-foot one-story Morgan Memorial Library across from City Hall.
Chuck Wray, consultant at Quinn Evans Architects, outlined the major themes the new library will address at the September 15 city council meeting and presented the preliminary designs for the facility.
Council members were generally happy with the presentation, but provided their own comments on what they wanted to see in it.
Wray highlighted a pair of libraries his company recently designed and has since opened – a 44,000 square foot library in Henrico County and a 43,000 square foot library in Cecil County, Maryland. . He said they try to take advantage of their locations, and in the case of Suffolk, his business wants to take advantage of the uniqueness of the city center.
“We took a close look at the downtown area,” Wray said. “There’s an incredible collection of architecture here, and it’s really an interesting time to fill that missing tooth that’s along Washington Street, if you will. So we’re looking for a way to have something that’s very compatible, very inviting, very open, really connected to the outside and just really evocative. We believe libraries are the most transformative places a community can invest in, quite frankly. “
Wray said the company has designed an adaptable space with room to breathe and accessibility for the entire community.
At the corner of Washington and South streets, it will have an entrance plaza and connect the building to the rear – to the south – through a series of outdoor spaces, to include spaces for children, community gardens, an outdoor area. multi-purpose parking lot that could also be used for a farmer’s market, and connect it to a linear park with a water element. The public would have entrances at the front and rear of the building.
He said his business would also like Lee Street converted to a one-way street for people to drop off and pick up books, for a Library-to-Go van, and to accommodate deliveries.
Inside the library, there would be a service point just inside the main entrance. Adjacent to this would be an “after hours” area that could be broken down into multiple uses that could be isolated from the rest of the space.
Spaces for children and adolescents will be on the ground floor running the entire length of one side of the building, with collaborative spaces they could use. Staff will be housed at the rear of the building with their eyes on Lee Street and the parking lot, giving it a passive safety feature, Wray said.
Upstairs, the library will have a smaller footprint, with the adult area, staff workspace, larger group study rooms, collaboration spaces, smaller study rooms and a digital content creation laboratory. It will also have a dedicated community space that can be opened when the rest of the library is not. In addition to the stairs, the new library will also have an elevator.
Wray said a new, modern library can be a hub for community activity.
“The library project, in our opinion, is another great example of how the city can infuse downtown with more activity, more character (and) bring people downtown,” Wray said. .
Wray said there has been a shift over the past 15 years, from libraries to a place where only books are stored, to more of a community center and a people-centered environment.
In December 2019, the city selected Quinn Evans to design the new library, with the city executing a nearly $ 1.8 million contract for design services in February. This is expected to be completed by spring 2022. Site plan review has been underway since last September and is expected to be ready for approval by August 2022.
The tender for the construction of the project is expected to take place between October and November 2022, with construction starting in December and ending in March 2024, with the library opening in late spring 2024.
City Councilor Roger Fawcett said he wanted to leverage and maximize every aspect of the library he could, including adding college courses at places like Paul D. Camp Community College, the University of ‘State of Norfolk or other schools. He also wants to see programs for the elderly in the new library and liked STEM and the children’s spaces.
“We have to be able to use it for (a lot) of things,” Fawcett said.
Fawcett is also concerned about accessibility for older people to get to the second floor, even with an elevator, but Wray said trying to put a one-story library on the site was not doable. Not only would the library occupy the entire footprint of the site, it would also create storm water issues.
Mayor Mike Duman said that once opened, the new library will have to adapt if some spaces end up being underutilized.
“Flexibility is going to be the key so that we can adapt,” said Duman.
City Councilor Tim Johnson wants to make sure this is a library everyone will use and fit in well with the city center. He hopes there will be space for gardening and a kitchen inside to expand the programs of the new library. He said he wanted it to fit in with what the city wants downtown to look like, and it’s a unique deal to get it right.
“I am impressed so far with what you have presented,” Johnson said. “This is what we are looking for as a city.
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