Plans for the city’s new central library have been in the works since 2006, when voters approved bond spending for the facility. Library officials now say designs for the building are 60 percent complete – and next steps include bidding out construction contracts and breaking ground next year.
While Austin has previously seen schematic designs of the building, “it’s pretty much as the name of the phase implies – the scheme at that point,” says John Gillum, facilities process manager for the Austin Public Library. “You’re trying to figure out if you can put the building on the site that you have.”
In contrast, Gillum now says the entire design is now over halfway complete. “It’s pretty much a refinement and further development of what we saw in the schematic design. … We know what the finishes are going to be, what the landscaping is going to look like, where things are going to be located, 99 percent certain in the new building,” he says.
The designs were presented to the Austin City Council yesterday, but they’re making another appearance this Monday night, Oct. 1, at the Austin History Center, 7 p.m.
“From this point on, we will try to get into construction as soon as possible,” Gillum says. The council is expected to receive construction bids on the library this spring, with a groundbreaking scheduled for around this time next year.
