KENMORE BRANCH LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION

KENMORE BRANCH LIBRARY TO CLOSE JULY 26 FOR RELOCATION

The current location of Kenmore Branch Library will close Saturday, July 26 at 5 p.m. in preparation for the move to the new facility next door.

The bookdrop will NOT be open during the relocation. Kenmore patrons are asked to return library items to any Akron-Summit County Library location including the following nearby locations:

Odom Blvd - 600 Vernon Odom Blvd.
Firestone Park – 1486 Aster Avenue
Portage Lakes – 4261 Manchester Road

Customers who have placed holds on items to be picked up at Kenmore: your holds will be available for pickup beginning September 6 at the Kenmore Open House from 2-4 p.m. Holds will not be available for pickup until this time.

The new branch library is being constructed next door on Kenmore Blvd. It will officially open Monday, September 8 at 10 a.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and community open house is planned for Saturday, September 6.

June 2008

Winter 2007-2008

KENMORE BRANCH LIBRARY GROUNDBREAKING NOV. 9

The Akron-Summit County Public Library will break ground on the replacement for the Kenmore Branch Library Friday, Nov. 9 at 10:30 a.m. The community is invited to attend the groundbreaking ceremony at 2200 14th Street in Kenmore.

The new branch library will be built on land adjacent to the current building, leased to the library from the City of Akron. The current library should remain open for most of the construction period.

Total estimate for the approximately 12,000-square foot structure is $2,150,000. The new site will include 110 surface parking spaces that will serve the Library and surrounding businesses. Moody-Nolan, Inc. is the architect. The construction manager is Summit Construction.

The branch library is the last to be constructed in the Library’s building campaign, paid for by taxpayer funds generated by the bond issue approved by voters in November 1997. This has funded the expansion or replacement of 15 of the library system’s 17 branch locations, and the expansion of the award-winning Main Library in downtown Akron.

History of Kenmore Branch Library
Library service to the Kenmore area began in 1923 with a lending library started in a department store by Louis Grostein. Akron Public Library took over the book collection after Kenmore’s annexation to the city. In 1930 the collection was moved to the second floor of the Kenmore City Building at 957 Kenmore Boulevard. The library occupied Council chambers, sharing the building with a fire department, and bank and a doctor. The Fortnightly Club of Akron served as staff.

A new building at 2200 14th St., S.W. was dedicated on January 4, 1957. Designed by architects Tuchman & Canute, it was approximately 4,000 sq. ft.

Kenmore Branch Library Fact Sheet - February 2007

Total estimated project cost

$2.15 million

Tentative Schedule

Groundbreaking Fall 2007

Construction complete Summer 2008

Building area

Approximately 12,000 square feet

Project history

This branch is a replacement for the current Kenmore Branch Library at
2200 14th St. SW and is being constructed in cooperation with the City of Akron

Address

2200 14th St. SW in southwest Akron

Construction team

Moody Nolan, Inc.-- Architects

Summit Construction Company, Inc. – Construction Managers

Building program spaces

22 public access computers with free Internet connectivity

Free Wireless capabilities

Designated Teen area and Children’s Library

Building is designed to house 65,000 library items

Large community room for use by non-profit groups and organizations

Large gatherings for up to 100 people. An adjacent kitchenette provides for events serving light refreshments

Small conference room

Small gatherings for up to 20 people

LIBRARY ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW KENMORE BRANCH

The Akron-Summit County Public Library and The City of Akron have agreed to a letter of understanding to construct a new branch library in the heart of Kenmore on Kenmore Boulevard.

“The residents of Kenmore have waited a long time for this day to come,” said Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic, “But we think that the wait will be worth it, and will serve children, families, and businesses in Kenmore for many years to come.”

The new structure, approximately 12,000 square ft., will replace the existing Kenmore Branch Library at 2200 14th Street SW. About 110 parking spaces are planned to serve the library and surrounding businesses. The new branch library will be built on land adjacent to the current building, leased to the library from the City of Akron. The current building should be able to remain open for most of the construction period.

“The Library’s Board of Trustees has been responsive to our need to insure that branch libraries are strategically located to serve as anchors in neighborhood business districts,” Plusquellic said.

Under the proposal, the City of Akron will lease the land to the library for 50 years with one fifty-year renewal option. In exchange, the Library will replace 59 existing parking spaces with approximately 110 new parking spaces that will serve the entire business district. The Library will also maintain the two parking lots which were previously maintained by the City and assessed to participating property owners in the Kenmore Neighborhood Business District.
Groundbreaking for the branch will occur this fall, with completion scheduled for summer 2008. The total estimated project cost is $2.15 million. Moody-Nolan, Inc. is the architect. The construction manager is Summit Construction.

“The new Kenmore Branch Library is the fifth branch library project that will have benefited from cooperation with the City of Akron. We truly appreciate the city’s willingness to work with the library for the best outcome for the entire community,” said library director David Jennings.
The branch library is the last to be constructed in the Library’s building campaign, paid for by taxpayer funds generated by the bond issue approved by voters in November 1997. This has funded the expansion or replacement of 15 of the library system’s 17 branch locations, and the expansion of the award-winning Main Library in downtown Akron.

The lease agreement between the City of Akron and the Akron-Summit County Public

Library will require approval from the Akron Planning Commission and the Akron City Council.

Remarks from board president Scott Jaffe:
Mayor Plusquellic, citizens of Akron, and those of our greater Library district across Summit County, the Akron-Summit County Public Library takes great pride today in joining with the City of Akron in announcing not only the pending construction of our Kenmore Branch, but the completion of a twenty year journey fulfilling a shared dream of recreating, modernizing and expanding our entire library system plant structure.

The start of development of the new Kenmore Library branch is not just a joint announcement of a beginning, but also the end result of joint efforts by the City, the Mayor’s office (especially Leah England Walsh) and Akron City Council (especially City Councilman Mike Freeman), together with our Library management and Board to find creative solutions to solve challenging issues in site development. For the Library, construction of a new facility is not just architectural plans and brick and mortar. It has to begin with a workable site and a well planned infrastructure.

Nothing illustrates this cooperation more than our last three projects that took place over the last couple years, Each of these last three projects: Main Library, West Hill at Highland Square, and now Kenmore Branch, has had special challenges in its site development. It’s often not easy to triple the size of a branch on the same, or nearly the same site, that is in the same already full business district of a well established neighborhood. So it has been with the joint efforts of the City and the Library that each of these last three sites have been developed. Each has resulted not only in a new library structure with larger footprint, but also in expanded public parking to help grow its adjacent business district.

So with the completion of our Kenmore Branch we will complete the entire cycle of replacing and expanding all of our Library facilities that was committed at the time of our bond campaign ten years ago. No new taxes are involved in today’s announcement. In fact during the past two years our Board took action to restructure our bonds to take advantage of then substantially lower interest rates, and return all the savings to tax payers by reducing rates.

Completion of the building phase is especially exciting to the Library because it has allowed us to move towards a period of emphasis on expanding services. We have just completed an extensive Long Range Strategic Plan that was the result of efforts not only by the Library Board and Staff at all levels, but with the involvement of a wide array of the public – representing the needs of our patrons.

As part of this plan we redirect our Mission Statement and Core Values to begin our process of excellence towards becoming no less than one of the best library systems across America.

This new Kenmore Branch represents an important point in this goal and again we would like to thank the City of Akron for its strong working partnership with us.