This artist’s rendering provided by the Hacker design studio of Portland illustrates the facade of the proposed new Logan Library as seen from the west.
LOGAN – With submission of a final design plan for the new Logan Library, members of the Logan Library Board have announced complicated details for the implementation of that construction project.
The library design plan was unveiled at the regular meeting of the Logan City Council on Sept. 7. That design is a collaborative effort between Hacker, a design studio based in Portland, and Logan’s local Design West architects.
Their plan calls for construction of a three-story library structure oriented primarily along Main Street, stretching south from the corner of 300 North Street.
Mayor Holly Daines has previously explained that construction of the new structure on the site of the current library will contribute to ongoing downtown revitalization efforts and save an estimated $1 million in property acquisition costs.
But that decision will also require a moving the library to a temporary location during the demolition and construction process, according to associate librarian Morgan Stoker-Taylor.
“The temporary location of the Logan Library will be at the Logan City Service Center at 950 West, 600 North,” Stoker-Taylor explained.
“That location does not allow for a browsing collection,” she acknowledged. “Instead, we will have a ‘pick-it-up’ curbside option for patrons to pick up items that they have previously placed on hold.
“We are also planning to do more outreach by taking our story times on the road to visit various parks during the summer months. Other outreach activities are being planned as well.”
The tentative timeline for the library project will begin in December, when the city library will close for approximately one month. The library’s collection will be packed during that period. A portion of that inventory will be placed in storage and not be available during the construction project.
In January of 2022, the library’s materials will be moved to the Logan City Service Center and a public surplus sale of excess furniture and other items will be held.
The temporary library location will open during February of 2022 and demolition of the old library structure will begin.
Construction of the new library is expected to begin in March of 2022, with the new facility expected to open in the spring or summer of 2023.
Addressing the city council members virtually, Hacker representatives explained that their vision of the new library calls for a bustling, park-like atmosphere on the structure’s ground floor, an active tone for teens and adults on the second floor and a quiet reserve on the top floor.
The Hacker architects also recommended the realignment of the parking lot shared by the Logan City Hall and the library to increase its capacity from 162 stalls to 204.
While acknowledging that plans for the library are “not quite set in stone yet,” Daines praised the direction in which those plans are developing.
City council member Jeannie Simmonds expressed similar sentiments, saying the working with Hacker representatives and a local design team has been “an absolute pleasure.”
Not all online comments from members of the pubic were quite so positive, however.
“It looks like a lovely social space,” wrote Jesse Walker after viewing the Hacker vision of the new library’s airy interior. “It was nice of them to add a few shelves for books as an afterthought.”
“I personally think that the outside of the building is too modern,” Ashley Yates Nance added online. “It just doesn’t ‘feel’ like downtown Logan.”
City officials have previously estimated the construction cost of the new library at $16 million through analysis of expenses associated with two recently constructed libraries in the communities of Kerns and Daybreak.
City Finance Director Richard Anderson has further estimated that the tax increase for the proposed library project would be $16.94 per year on the average home in Logan with a property value of $281,100.