Construction Updates
With the successful April opening of the New Castle Branch Library, we now have three more branches to go! We're happy to celebrate our halfway point and library administrators and staff continue to work hard for library patrons in Silt, Glenwood Springs, and Carbondale. Read on for a brief update on these remaining 3 projects.
Silt Branch Library
The new Silt Branch Library broke ground on March 9th at the corner of Seventh Street and Home Avenue, next to the current library. The building is going up quickly as the roof is scheduled to be completed in the coming week and painting will start in July. The new library will have an expandable meeting room, two study rooms, separate teen and children's spaces and expanded computer access. There will be a community plaza between the library and Silt Town Hall. One of the features of this space will be 28 "volumes" cut into the concrete of the plaza, representing 28 books on a shelf. Donors can select a favorite book to honor for $250. Titles must be known titles of published works, and the library can help with suggestions. If you are interested, contact Kelsy Been at kbeen@gcpld.org or call 970-625-4270. We hope to be open in this location in October 2012.
Glenwood Springs Branch Library
The new Glenwood Springs Branch Library broke ground on April 30th at the corner of 8th and Cooper Streets in downtown Glenwood. The 28,000 square foot building will feature a 14,000 square foot library, 1500 square foot public meeting room, a community plaza, quiet reading room with a fireplace, special children's and teen areas, and several private study rooms. The new branch will be built at the corner of Eighth Street and Cooper Avenue with construction starting in April 2012 and opening in mid-2013. A second floor of 14,000 square feet will be jointly owned by Colorado Mountain College and the Library District and serve as future expansion space for both organizations. Architect Dennis Humphries of Humphries Poli Architecture is leading the design process, and the building will be constructed by FCI, Inc.
During construction the City of Glenwood Springs is very concerned about parking in the area and offers a number of alternatives to help lessen the impact on downtown businesses. Construction traffic will be tightly controlled, and subcontractors are expected to park offsite. Click here for more information about parking in Glenwood Springs.
Carbondale Branch Library
Our goal for the new Carbondale Branch Library is to break ground this July with an opening date sometime in mid-2013. The new 13,000 square foot library will be located at the corner of Third Street and Sopris Avenue, adjacent to Bridges High School. The site affords ample parking, proximity to downtown and the Third Street Center, and the opportunity to incorporate both sustainable and artistic elements into the new facility. The building is being designed by Willis Pember Architects of Aspen, as well as a number of consultants from Carbondale including DHM Design, Andrea Korber, Mark Chain and Dan Richardson. The Library District is also working with CLEER and Garfield Clean Energy for review of sustainable and energy features. An FAQ about the project is located here.
The project is being offered as a Design/Bid/Build project and will go to bid on May 30th with an open house June 5th at 9am at the corner of Sopris Avenue and Third Street. A full schedule is located here under RFPs & RFQs.