Renton and the King County Library System have selected two locations – one downtown and one in the Highlands – for two new libraries.
The libraries will replace the downtown library that now spans the Cedar River on Mill Avenue South and the one in the Highlands on Northeast 12th Street.
City officials say construction of the new branches fulfills a promise made in the campaign to annex to KCLS to build modern and accessible facilities in the city. Renton annexed to KCLS in February 2010.
The locations also will help the city revitalize the city’s historic downtown core and the Sunset area of the Highlands.
“These new facilities will be significant community assets,” said Mayor Denis Law. “We want them to function as extensions of people’s living rooms, offices and classrooms. This is where we will gather to enjoy each other’s company, discuss issues, conduct business and learn about the world around us.”
The downtown location is on the site of the former Big 5 Sporting Goods store, 508 S. Third St., near The Piazza and the Renton Transit Center. The City of Renton has entered into an agreement to buy the property for $525,000. The City Council must still approve the purchase.
The existing Big 5 building would be torn down and a new roughly 15,000-square-foot library built. Big 5 has opened a new store at the Renton Village Shopping Center on South Grady Way.
The existing downtown library is about 22,000 square feet. But because the building space is inefficient, KCLS has told the city it can provide more services at a smaller facility, said Alex Pietsch, administrator of the City of Renton Community and Economic Development.
In the Highlands the city is in discussions with the Renton Housing Authority to acquire a portion of the Sunset Terrace housing properties on Sunset Boulevard Northeast for the new Highlands branch. KCLS is planning a 15,000-square-foot library there, too, more than tripling the size of the existing Highlands library.
As part of the Highlands’ branch siting, the city and KCLS are discussing the possibility of a land swap involving property at Sunset Terrace and the current library, Pietsch said.
The Renton Housing Authority has 100 housing units at Sunset Terrace. It’s expected to apply this spring to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to allow relocation of these housing units over time and redevelopment of the property into a new mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood.
“Having a new library in the heart of this redevelopment area is key to our strategy of creating a vibrant new neighborhood,” said Mark Gropper, RHA’s executive director.
Pietsch said the city did an “exhaustive” search for locations for the new libraries, with an architect and engineer evaluating how well each of the 10 sites – six downtown and four in the Highlands – met the KCLS siting criteria.
The downtown locations included the existing library and the city’s Pavilion building at the Piazza.
Detailed cost estimates will not be known until the branches are designed, but it’s estimated land acquisition, design and construction will cost $9 million to $10 million for each building. The City of Renton has set aside funding previously spent operating the Renton Library System to finance the construction of the new libraries.
The City of Renton and KCLS have indicated they hope to have the new downtown branch built and open by the end of 2012 or in early 2013. The Highlands branch would follow about a year later, but that’s also dependent on how quickly Renton Housing Authority land becomes available.
“We could not be more excited about the new downtown Renton Library location,” said Bill Ptacek, KCLS director, in a press release. “This new, more central library location will provide easier access, whether patrons are coming from Renton High School just a block away, by bus through the Transit Center, or by car, due to the abundance of nearby free parking.”
Mayor Law called the new downtown location a “tremendous opportunity to further our efforts to revitalize downtown Renton.” Since the mid-1990s, the city has developed the Piazza, the Transit Center, the City Center Parking Garage and the Renton Pavilion Events Center.
“These projects, as well as the Renton School District’s remodel of Renton High School and the addition of IKEA Performing Arts Center, have attracted millions of dollars in new private investments and transformed the neighborhood,” Law said. “Building a new library on the Big 5 property will be yet another catalyst, bringing hundreds of additional Library patrons to the downtown core every day, benefitting the restaurants and shops nearby.”
The City of Renton will still own the building that houses the downtown library over the Cedar River. City staff is exploring new uses for the existing Library and will gather public input through community workshops.
“We’ll study a number of options for re-use of the existing downtown Library,” said Law. “The structure is iconic. We want to find a new use that will take advantage of its unique connection to the Cedar River and add to the vibrancy of downtown Renton.”
Renton will own the land underneath the two new libraries. KCLS will coordinate the design, construction and will own and operate the buildings once completed. Renton and KCLS are jointly selecting the architect and engineer teams.
Representatives of the KCLS Board of Trustees, KCLS and Renton administration, Renton Library Advisory Board and Renton Municipal Arts Commission will participate in the final selection process. The community will participate in the design process.
