by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
Mayor John Delaney placed his stamp of approval on the new downtown library design Thursday. Competing against three other architecture firms, Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York received the winning nod for its classically-inspired building design.
“Some things are taste, some are aesthetics,” said Delaney. “The firms tried to capture the essence of Jacksonville. Our goal was to build a signature building.”
Four architectural firms competed to design the library that will face Hemming Plaza east of Laura Street. On Monday, they presented their ideas to the City’s Professional Services Evaluation Committee. The PSEC then evaluated each presentation on a number of criteria such as functionality, flexibility, ease of maintenance and cost of construction. Each of the five PSEC members individually ranked the four designs based on the criteria and then formulated a combined ranking.
The top-ranked Stern design, to which the mayor concurred, will blend in with other buildings facing Hemming Plaza, including the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art and the St. James Building.
The PSEC passed on racier and more daring design concepts submitted by Michael Graves and Associates of Princeton, N.J., Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates of New York and Los Angeles and Vitetta of Philadelphia for the comparatively staid Stern submission.
“Obviously we couldn’t lose with any of the designs,” said Delaney. “Stern has captured the classic look . . . and the mood of Jacksonville is that we want to preserve our historic buildings.”
The City must now negotiate a contract with Robert A.M. Stern Architects for the full design of the building, which is estimated to cost between $4-6 million. The City currently owns all the land where the library and associated parking garage will be constructed, although a number of old buildings still stand in the way, including the Rhodes and three LaRose buildings. Despite protests from historians, all the buildings are destined for the wrecking ball.
“We’re in the process of recording each of the buildings,” said library project manager Rex Holmlin.
When a building is recorded, every notable architectural detail about the structure is documented and photographed for posterity.
Also in the way are the Czigan and Rummel art gallery and the Young Men’s Shop where the parking garage will go along Duval streets. The stores will close in January and the City will take control of the land in early February. Holmlin expects the City to accept demolition bids shortly thereafter and the buildings to be leveled by summer, 2002.
To facilitate efficient logistics and to prevent construction-related traffic snarls along Duval, Main, Monroe and Laura streets, Holmlin said the garage will be erected first followed by the library, which will give construction crews an off-street parking and staging area for vehicles and equipment.
One point of concern for each of the four library designs was the cost. While the total price of the library is listed at $95 million, it includes land purchases consulting, archeological surveys, demolition and architectural fees. Only $53 million is set aside for building construction. If the cost of the Stern design exceeds that, the City would have to dip into the Better Jacksonville Plan’s $35 million contingency fund, which is something they had to do for the baseball park. Delaney is adamant that it won’t happen with the library.
“I do not anticipate moving any money from [the contingency fund] for the library,” he said. “We have a $95 million budget. We will meet that budget.”
The proposed $95 million downtown library is one of several vertical projects outlined in the mayor’s $2.2 billion Better Jacksonville Plan that was supported by Jacksonville voters last year. City officials expect the new library to open by late 2003.