Citizens for Sunnyvale Parks & Green Spaces: Nice Libraries for Nice Prices

By Michael Goldman, co-founder with Deborah Marks of Citizens for Sunnyvale Parks and Green Spaces

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Deborah Marks is also leader of Sunnyvale Urban Forests Advocates

http://www.SunnyvaleUrbanForestAdvocates.org/

Six more nice libraries costing between $249 and $512 per square foot in contrast to the 2007 Sunnyvale library $108M bond measure costed at nearly $1,000/sq.ft. That was to tear down Sunnyvale's current library (60,000 sq. ft.) and build a 116,000 sq.ft. library. The same architect (ABA) is doing the "needs" assessment for a new "Civic Center Modernization".

See previous posting here:
http://cspgs.blogspot.com/2015/09/nice-libraries-for-nice-prices-5.html
Next post with more libraries is here:
http://cspgs.blogspot.com/2015/09/nice-libraries-for-nice-prices-7.html

The 6 libraries looked at here totaled $48.2M for 118,100 sq.ft.

17. Dorris - Butte Valley (2006) $0.8M - 3,300 sq.ft. - $249/Sq.Ft.
18. Castro Valley - Alameda County (2013) $16.5M - 34,500 SF - $477/Sq.Ft.
19. Pickleweed - San Rafael (2006) $2M - 6,500 SF - $305/Sq.Ft.
20. Orange Cove - Fresno (2010) $4.3M - 10,100 SF - $429/Sq.Ft.
21. Harbor Gateway - Los Angeles (2008) - $7.5M - 14,600 SF - $512/Sq.Ft.
22. National City (2005) - $17.1M - 49,100 SF - $349/Sq.Ft.

17. Dorris Library (2006)

$821K / 3,300 SF = $249 / SF

Click on image to enlarge

Dorris Library (Butte Valley) opened on November 15, 2006 in the City of Dorris (near the OR-CA border) a branch of the Siskiyou County Library. The new building is 3,300 square feet replacing the previous 400 SF building. New services include a Homework Center, a Toy Library, Spanish Language and bi-lingual Collections, and a Meeting Room all of which will be well used by the 886 residents in this sparsely populated high desert area in Northern California. It is jointly used with the school.

http://www.dof.ca.gov/osae/audit_reports/documents/CSL%20City%20of%20Dorris%20Library%20Construction%20Grant%20Agreement%202046.pdf

Text from:
https://www.library.ca.gov/newsletter/2007/2007spring/newlibrary.html

Architect's web page:
http://siskiyoudesigngroup.com/

18. Castro Valley (2013)

$16.5M ($19.3) / 34,537 SF =$477 ($558)/ SF
LEED Gold

As I write in 2015, this library is only 2 years old so the cost per sq.ft. is something we can reasonably expect to be what Sunnyvale would pay. It raises again the question - why was Sunnyvale asked to vote for roughly $1,000 per square foot in the 2007 Library Bond measure? And why is the proposed Lakewood Branch Library estimated to cost nearly $1,000/sq.ft.?

The two numbers for the cost per square foot is because of the extremely high value of the land. The land did not have to be bought but the accounting methodology requires it to be included in the cost of the library just as if it had to be purchased. Since we are comparing this to the cost estimate for the 2007 Sunnyvale Library Bond issue we use the lower cost since bond money wasn't to be used for purchasing land.

Click on image to enlarge

The Castro Valley Library is U.S. Green Building Council LEED® Gold rated. It gets 100% of its electricity from rooftop solar panels (presumably during daylight and then uses credits from that to buy electricity in the evening).

The "Google Earth" view shows the roof covered in solar panels

Green Building Features:

A 277-kilowatt solar energy installation provides 100% of the library's electricity needs.
A raised floor system to maximize the energy efficiency of heating and cooling systems
Energy-efficient lighting and mechanical equipment
Green power through a purchasing agreement with a vendor that produces energy from renewable sources
Bay-Friendly landscaping
Covered bicycle parking
Paints and sealants that emit low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), resulting in improved air quality
Green cleaning with less-toxic cleaning products
Recycling
Water-efficient plumbing fixtures

Above from :http://www.acgov.org/sustain/what/greenbuilding/cvlibrary.htm

19. Pickleweed library (2006)

$1.98M / 6,487 SF = $305 / SF

This San Rafael, CA branch library and community center has been renamed the Albert J. Boro Community Center & Library. It serves a poor, under-served community that is cut off from access to San Rafael's main library and community center.

Click on any image to enlarge

http://www.ommconsulting.com/projects/community/pickleweed_community_center.php
http://www.dof.ca.gov/osae/audit_reports/documents/CSL_City_of_San_Rafael_Library_Construction.pdf
http://www.visitmarin.org/things-to-do/outdoor-activities/recreation/albert-j-boro-community-center-library/

Architect's web page for this project is here:
http://www.g4arch.com/projects/default.aspx?viewType=type&cID=2&pID=14

20. Orange Cove Branch Library - Fresno (2010)
$4.32M / 10,072 SF = $429 / SF

Orange Cove is a small, largely Hispanic farming community of just under 10,000 people.

Click on any image to enlarge

Pictures above from the Architect's web page here:

http://teterae.com/projects/public-agency/orange-cove-library/

Above from:
http://www.dof.ca.gov/osae/audit_reports/documents/CountyofFresnoOrangeCoveLibrary.pdf
http://cityoforangecove.com/library/

Architect was Fresno County Public Works & Planning who hired Claude DeChow for the design.

21. Harbor Gateway - LA (City) (2008)

$7.5M ($8.8M) / 14,621 Sq. Ft. = $512 ($601)/SF

Again, there are two values for the cost of the library because the accounting for cost figures in the value of the land even if the land is already owned by the city or county putting up the library. This is not relevant to bond measure costs for a library like Sunnyvale's because voters do not have to pay for land they already own. To compare the cost of another library to that projected for Sunnyvale in the 2007 bond issue, we need to compare like-costs to like-costs.