September 2011 Building Update: Four new buildings in the works!

The Branch Library at New Castle is coming right along. We celebrated the last beam being hoisted the first week of September and the building is really beginning to take shape. We are focusing on promoting donor opportunities at this time. The library will reopen in its home location next March, and you can visit the temporary branch next door to Subway and City Market at 820 Castle Valley Blvd. The building is being designed by A4 Architects and is being built by B&H Construction.

The Silt Branch Library has begun design development and will break ground next March. The architect is Paul Trementozzi of Oz Architecture and the contractor is FCI. The building features an expandable meeting room to accommodate larger events, as well as two study rooms, unique children's and teens’ spaces, and a plaza between the existing Silt Town Hall and the new library. The plaza will feature 28 concrete "books." Donors will have an opportunity to name their favorite title and author as part of the installation. The project will break ground in March 2012 and open later that year.

We have made progress with the construction of a new branch library in Glenwood Springs at the corner of Cooper Avenue and Eighth Street in partnership with the Glenwood Springs Downtown Development Authority, the City of Glenwood Springs and Colorado Mountain College. The team hired Dennis Humphries of Humphries Polis Architecture. Contract negotiations are underway with a contractor as well. The site will include a new 14,000 square foot library, off-street parking and a community plaza. The project will break ground in April 2012.

The Carbondale Branch Library currently has a request for proposals for architects out. We hope to hire an architect in October and get started with the design process later this fall. The project is slated for a 13,000 square foot facility at the corner of Sopris and Third Avenue. We hope to break ground by next summer.

GCPLD is committed to providing safe and efficient facilities and is working to ensure that overall operational costs for the District remain low as we expand our facilities to meet the library needs of the future. Check out how our buildings are doing at garfieldenergynavigator.org.

GCPLD intends to complete all remaining library projects by the end of 2013 to take advantage of current cost savings associated with the slower economy. Please check our Construction page regularly for new requests as well as addenda and updates.

-Amelia Shelley, Executive Director