Seattle Press on Line - Greenwood Library Plans Shaping Up

Greenwood Library Plans Shaping Up

Dec 20, 2001 -- It has been a long, hard road for Greenwood residents working for a new branch library, but plans may finally be coming together around a site and a design that will make everyone happy: the old Greenwood Library made new.

Representatives of the Seattle Public Library and project architects Buffalo Design unveiled preliminary design ideas for Greenwood's new branch library at an open house on December 3.

Though the site has always been the favorite among community members, this is the second time around for neighborhood library supporters, and several people expressed impatience and anger at the meeting.

"I feel like I'm in deja vu, we're really back at ground zero here," said Carrie McCarthy. "I just want to make sure somebody's paying attention to all the work we've already done."

McCarthy referred to the long site selection process over the past two years, when Greenwood citizens and the Library Board came up with a site that everyone could agree on: the McDonald's property just north of 85th Street on Greenwood Avenue. The site was not the community's first choice. The current library site has always been the favorite, but it was nixed because a neighboring house would have had to be torn down to accommodate the larger library structure. McDonald's, with its central location and the fact that no housing would have to be destroyed, became the eventual winner. A mixed-use building including a community center, ground floor retail, the library, and low-income housing was planned.

In August of 2001, with only two weeks' notice to the Greenwood Community Council, the Library Board decided to reverse its decision and pull out of the McDonald's site.

"This is not how it normally works," said Deborah Jacobs, head librarian. Jacobs explained that the sudden decision was due to legal procedures in motion at the time. The condemnation process of the McDonald's site had already begun, so when the Board reconsidered, quick action was necessary to stop the process. As for the reason for the reversal, Jacobs cited problems with the site, including complications arising from the multiple uses of the building, as well as the library being pushed to a long-term lease on the second floor. The Library Board strongly desired a street-level entrance and ownership of the building housing the library. At the McDonald's site, Jacobs said, the Library would spend more and get less.

Another deciding factor was the discovery that the residents of the neighboring house at the current library site were moving, so there would be no need to condemn occupied houses.

Now, plans are under way to design a building that will fit into the community while doubling the square footage. Several preliminary design options were presented at the December 3 meeting, and comments from the meeting will be included in the next public meeting, scheduled for January or early February of 2002.

For more information about the Greenwood Library, visit www.spl.org and scroll down to the Libraries For All link.

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