Regional Library Plans(Fuhrer Branch replacement)

2009-04-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

View from the Circulation Desk

Center Aisle

Children's Tower

2009-03-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

Sign

Seating / Study Rooms

Coffee Bar

Children's Tower (Tree)

2009-02-27T11:35:00.000-08:00

Clouds in the Children's Tower

Shelving

Coffee Bar

2009-02-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

Carpet is being laid

Foyer

2009-02-11T12:38:00.000-08:00

Coffee Bar

Circulation Desk Lights

Circulation Desk Installed

2009-02-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

2009-01-20T12:50:00.000-08:00

Installation of Lights

Bathroom Tile

2009-01-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Rear Wall

Front View at the Corner

Computer Wall

Front View

Side View

2008-12-16T14:22:00.000-08:00

Side ViewMain Entrance

Facing the children’s tower (where there’ll be clouds, not clowns, near the high ceiling)

Glass-fronted Study Rooms

2008-12-02T07:15:00.000-08:00

Children's Tower

Main Room: Facing Circulation Desk

View from the Parking Lot

Entrance Foyer

Interior of Children's Tower

2008-11-17T11:14:00.001-08:00

Main Room as Seen from Rear

2008-11-17T11:13:00.001-08:00

Belle Fuhrer Meeting Room

2008-11-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

New Pictures!

2008-11-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

2008-11-04T06:40:00.000-08:00

The roof of the children's tower is being installed.

Windows and Doors are going in.(click images to enlarge)

2008-10-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

2008-10-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

2008-09-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

2008-08-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

(Click image to enlarge)

Towering Again

2008-08-15T06:26:00.000-07:00

(Click image to enlarge)

2008-08-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

Main Entrance

The Children's Tower Rises Again

The children’s tower succumbs to 70 mph winds August 2nd.

2008-08-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

Children's Tower Rises Above the Roofline

2008-07-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Progress on Westside Regional Library

2008-07-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

Children's Tower

Study Rooms

View from the circulation desk looking toward the front

View from the teen area looking toward the back

(click images to enlarge)

Further Progress

2008-07-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

The children’s tower arises.The Front Façade

More Frame Work

2008-07-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

(click Image to enlarge)

Framing has begun.

2008-07-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

(click images to enlarge)

The steel girders are going up, and you can see the front door!

2008-07-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

(click Image to Enlarge)

We have a slab.

2008-06-18T11:42:00.001-07:00

(click image to enlarge)

Beginning the Foundation

2008-06-04T11:20:00.001-07:00

(click images to enlarge)

Work begins for the Westside Regional Library

2008-05-23T06:17:00.001-07:00

(click images to enlarge)

Preparing the Grounds

2008-04-03T14:45:00.001-07:00

(click images to enlarge)
Work begins on preparing the grounds to construct the new Westside Regional Library.

Slideshow of Groundbreaking

2008-04-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

You can see a slideshow of the groundbreaking by going to our main site.

Breaking Ground

2008-03-31T09:11:00.000-07:00

The groundbreaking for the Westside Regional Library was held on Friday, March 28^th at 10 AM at the library’s future site on Provine Place. Library staff used this happy opportunity to describe the increased size of the Fuhrer Branch’s replacement (about 2 ½ times the size of the current branch), as well as the many new features and services that the new library will have. These include wifi, two new meeting rooms, study rooms and an in-house coffee shop. In addition, moving to this location will finally allow the library to house all of its materials in one location, as well as restore ample parking for customers. With this move, children’s programming will be returned to the library. The Library is realizing its long-time goal of developing a regional facility that is in the heart of a rapidly growing area of Alexandria and the Parish. It will be easily reached by Fuhrer’s immediate neighbors, as well as residents in the burgeoning Highway 28W corridor.

Police Juror Steve Coco Welcomes the Attendees

Preparing to Dig!

Left to right: Steve, Rogge, Library Director, Fran Davis, Chuck Fowler, AlexandriaCity Council, Diane Lawton, Rapides Parish Library Board of Control, Karen Gipson, Co-Manager, Westside Regional Library, Tammy DiBartolo, Co-Manager, Westside Regional Library.

Staff of the New Library Gather Around the Plans!

Left to right:
Lacey Fletcher, Circulation Clerk, Yolanda Skinner, Youth Services, Karen Gipson, Co-Manager, Westside Regional Library, Joy Luttrell, Circulation Clerk, Susan Baker, Preschool Outreach Manager, Tammy DiBartolo, Co-Manager, Westside Regional Library, Laura-Ellen Ayres, Assistant Director for Direct Services

Director Steve Rogge Gives an Interview

Contractors and Architects Look On

Left to right: Bill Tudor, Architect, Lyle Bergeron, Architect, Ken Bergeron, Architect, John Tudor, Contractor
Retired Longtime Fuhrer Branch Staffer Pat Belaire on a Happy Day!

Bids are in for Westside Regional Library

2008-02-21T07:59:00.000-08:00

At their February 19th meeting, the Library Board of Control heard a report from architects at Alliance Design Group on the bid opening for the Westside Regional Library that had taken place earlier that day. The low bid, $1,449,000, was submitted by Tudor, Inc., which is also the company that is currently constructing the new branch facilities in Hineston and Glenmora. The Board voted to recommend to the Police Jury that they accept the low bid and sign a contract with Tudor, Inc. for the project on the Library’s behalf. The next Jury meeting is scheduled for March 17th.

A glimpse into the future.

2008-02-20T07:58:00.001-08:00

Front View Side Facing Parking Lot
Diagonal View
(click images to enlarge)

2008-01-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

Announcement of the solicitation for bids to construct the new regional library has gone out. Bids will be opened February 12th. It has been decided to call the new facility the Westside Regional Library.

Regional Library Floor Plans

2007-09-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

Floor Plans (entrance bottom left side)

(for larger picture click on picture)

The east side of the Library facing the parking lot

(for larger picture click on picture)

The south side of the library facing Provine Place

(for larger picture click on picture)

Construction blog for the new Regional Library

2007-08-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

REGIONAL LIBRARY PLANS (Fuhrer Branch replacement)

FUHRER BRANCH HISTORY
In 1982 the Rapides Parish Library opened the 3024 square foot Fuhrer Branch on the corner of Canterbury and Parliament in southwestern Alexandria. Over the years the branch has become the system’s busiest facility after Main Library. A temporary building was placed on the site to house all of the branch’s fiction books, thus temporarily taking the pressure off of the main building. Affectionately called “the outhouse” by some customers, it was always seen as a stop-gap measure until a larger facility could be built. At first the Library administration explored the possibility of adding on to the existing structure, but realized that the small size of the lot prevented a large enough addition to justify the effort. City codes require that there be a parking space for every 300 square feet of building. That limited the Library to a building only a couple of thousand square feet larger than the original structure.

CONSTRUCTION BUDGET
This building project, and others needed by Rapides Parish Library, were not feasible within the confines of the existing budget. In 2006 parish voters approved a one mill property tax increase with a 64% positive vote. That success will solve two problems for the Library. First and foremost, it will enable the Library to prevent the development of a budget deficit that was looming, due to the rising cost of insurance, utilities and other elements of the operational budget. For library customers in the Fuhrer service area it will also mean that at last the Library can afford to build a 10,000 square foot regional library to serve the current and future populations of the area.

The Library has secured a line of credit that will enable the construction of new branches in Hineston and Glenmora, as well as the regional library in Alexandria. Part of the one mill property tax increase will pay off those loans over the next seven years.

SITE SEARCH
The Library investigated more than twenty potential sites in the Jackson Street Extension and Highway 28W areas. Commercial property prices are extremely high, especially since the announcement of the Highway 28W Wal-Mart. The search narrowed down to two affordable sites in acceptable locations. The Board chose a two acre plot on Provine Place in the Lake District, next door to Griffin Family Practice, just one block off of the highway. This location, only 1.1 miles from MacArthur Drive, is well situated to serve existing housing areas and the current and predicted population growth in the general area. The site will be the home of the 10,000 square foot regional facility and has enough space for ample parking and future expansion, whenever that is needed. When Versailles Boulevard is extended to connect Jackson Street to Highway 28W, it will cross Provine Place about two blocks from the regional library. This will give excellent access to the library from existing neighborhoods.

REGIONAL LIBRARY FLOOR PLAN

At their September 18th meeting the Library Board of Control heard a proposal from Alliance Design Group, outlining schematics (floor plans) for the regional library to be located in the Lake District. The 10,000 sq ft design includes large and small meeting rooms, a coffee shop, glass walled study rooms for 4-8 people, and, of course, considerably more space for books, audiovisual materials, computers, seating, etc. The building will have a narrow front and a parking lot running parallel to its long (east) side. The main entrance will be on that east side. The front corner tower will house part of the children’s collection. The exterior will feature brick and plaster surfaces, as well as a long covered porch to minimize visitors’ in-the-sun (or rain) time as they pass to and from the parking lot. The design will fit in with other structures built or planned for the area, without creating excessively high construction costs. The Board was pleased with the design and authorized the architects and library administrative staff to move forward toward more detailed drawings.

Magnolia Trace Apartments, the regional site’s
down-the-block neighbor

(click on picture for larger picture)

Regional site in Lake District, next door to
Griffin Family Practice.

(click on picture for larger picture)

Pictures of what the Fuhrer Branch Library looks like today:

Front view of the Fuhrer Branch Library

(click on picture for larger picture)

This is Fuhrer Branch's Fiction Annex

(click on picture for larger picture)

Rear view of the Fuhrer Branch Library

(clcik on picture for larger picture)

This is Fuhrer Branch's crowded interior

(click on picture for larger picture)

Timeline for the Regional Library

2007-08-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

August 21, 2007 (Tuesday) – Library Board selects the Lake District site.

September 10, 2007 (Monday) – Police Jury acts to ratify the purchase. (postponed until the Octobre 8th meeting)

September 18, 2007 (Tuesday) – Library Board approves architect’s drawings.

October 30, 2007 (Tuesday) (approx.) – regional library construction project is put out for bids.

November 30, 2007 (Friday) (approx.) – Bid opening.

December 4, 2007 (Tuesday) – Library Board accepts low bid.

December 10, 2007 (Monday) – Police Jury ratifies acceptance of low bid.

January 2008 – Construction begins.