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NAVIGATION:
Neighborhood Libraries update - Archive
Dec. 31 - Collister Staff Hired, Grand Openings in
Sight
PLAN OVERVIEW - Four Full-Service Neighborhood
Libraries
December 31 - Collister Staff Hired, Grand Openings in SightCOLLISTER & HILLCREST LIBRARIESTenant improvements are scheduled to wrap up in both the Collister and Hillcrest locations in mid-to-late January. The libraries should open about 3 weeks later, after we move in the furniture, computers, equipment, and, of course, shelving, books and library materials. Opening-day collections total over 16,000 items awaiting the move to their new homes. Grand opening dates have slipped a little, due to issues with anti-theft detection gates, new storefront windows, carpet back orders, and reconfiguration of the circulation desks. However, we hope to see a grand opening at Collister in mid-February and at Hillcrest in late February or early March.
Hiring for the Hillcrest library begins in early January, which is also when the Hillcrest branch manager, Diane Broom, assumes her new responsibilities. That's Diane in the photo at left, talking with project manager Rob Bousfield at the Hillcrest site. (Note the red and blue decor.) West Boise LibraryThe comment period for the design review of the West Boise Library at Cole and Ustick is closed. Around 25 people attended the second Public Design Review Open House, held on December 10 at Capital High School. Overall, public comment has been very positive. The design goes before the Planning and Development Design Review Committee on January 9. This month, the project team will review the feasibility of obtaining a gold LEED certification with the City Council, per the Council's request. The request for proposal for the opening day collection should be “on the street” in late January. Requests for construction bids for the new library are expected to go out in March, with construction scheduled to start in April/May. The library should open a year later in May 2009. November 27 - Collister Nears Completion, Branch Managers Hired
The construction crew is working hard to wrap up tenant improvements by early December. Painting, mechanical and electrical work are almost complete; installation of the new glass storefront is underway; and, flooring installation begins this week. Starting in mid-December, the library will start moving in shelving, computers, books and desks. Watch for the grand opening sometime in mid-January!
The Library! at Hillcrest is almost exactly where Collister was a month ago. Drywall is completed and painting has begun, and the electrical and mechanical work are well underway. Construction is expected to wrap up in early January, to be quickly followed by installation of the library's furnishing, equipment and materials (books, music, etc.). The grand opening is planned for mid-February. New Branch Managers Hired Boise Public Library recently filled the new branch manager positions for the upcoming Collister and Hillcrest libraries. Jillian Subach will head-up the new Library! at Collister, and is busy interviewing and hiring additional staff. As branch manager, she will oversee a staff of 14 and an operating budget of approximately $750,000. Jillian previously served as Youth Services manager at Meridian Library District in Meridian, and as the Program Coordinator for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, a system of 41 libraries in the Cincinnati area. Diane Broom has accepted the branch manager position for the new Library! at Hillcrest. She will also oversee a staff of 14 and a $750,000 operating budget. Diane has been a children’s librarian at Boise Public Library for the past 20 years. She previously managed and operated a local bookstore and was manager of the Youth Services division at Nampa Public Library.
If you missed the first Design Review Open House for the West Boise library at Cole and Ustick, here's another opportunity - a second Public Design Review Open House is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 10, 4:30-8:30 p.m., at Capital High School. See press release. The West Boise library project continues in the design development phase, with preliminary designs being fleshed out in more detail. Zoning permitting is underway. We expect to break ground in mid-2008, and to open the library in mid-2009. Review West Boise library designs
Oct. 31 - Library! at Collister - Update & Photo Galleries
In November, electrical and plumbing work will continue, and we'll begin painting, installing cabinets and carpeting, and doing other interior finish work. If all goes according to plan, we should be moving in equipment and library materials in December, and opening the library late that month. Collister Construction Photo Gallery Wallbreaking Photo Gallery Oct. 31 - Library! at Hillcrest - Update & Photo Gallery
In early October, 60 people joined Mayor Bieter and the Library Board in a symbolic wallbreaking to kick of site improvements for the future LIBRARY! at Collister. See Hillcrest Photo Gallery Sept. 5 - Open House Scheduled to Review West Boise Library Designs
To review the designs online, click here. Boise residents are invited to review preliminary designs for the future West Boise neighborhood branch library at a Design Review Open House on Wednesday, September 12. The open house will run from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m., at New Heights Christian Fellowship, 9950 West Ustick Road. Project architects and Library and City staff will be on hand to show architectural renderings of the building exterior and to answer questions. “We asked the architects to focus on several goals for the building,” said Booe. “We wanted it to reflect the identity of the surrounding West Boise neighborhoods, and to act as a community center, welcoming and integrating the neighborhood and surrounding businesses.” One focus of design work was to “build green.” Preliminary designs include sustainable features for efficient use of energy and water and the use of recycled and local materials. "This is a very exciting project,” said Mayor David Bieter. “Not only will this be the first library that the City of Boise has built from the ground up; it will also serve as a focal point for these neighborhoods, with meeting rooms and activity programs for every age and interest. The fact that we're building 'green' makes this effort all the more significant." The City expects to break ground at the Cole and Ustick site in late spring 2008. The library will open in mid-2009. The design review open house is part of a public design review process outlined by the Library Building Committee. The process will include a series of public meetings, a liaison group of West Boise neighborhood leaders, and opportunities for online review and comment. West Boise includes the neighborhood associations for West Cloverdale, West Valley, West Bench and Winstead Park. Return to main Library Facilities Planning page. August 28 - Friends Donate $237,000 for Branch Materials
“We have a core group of Friends who have been very dedicated to helping branch libraries become a reality,” said Friends president Carol Bounds, who will present the check. “The Library came to the Friends several years ago and asked us to raise money specifically for branch library materials. It’s wonderful to finally see that money being put to use!”
Return to main Library Facilities Planning page. August 16 - Wallbreaking kicks off work on new LIBRARY! at Collister
July - Leases Signed, Artists Chosen, Design Review Process OutlinedLIBRARY! at Collister & at Hillcrest In early July, the City of Boise signed leases for two new neighborhood libraries in the Collister and Hillcrest shopping centers. We expect to receive approval of building permits in early August, and will start tenant improvements soon after.
Design review for West Boise library Library architects from Fletcher Farr Ayotte, Inc. are proceeding with initial design and layout for the West Boise library at Cole and Ustick. We expect to have design concepts early this fall for review by the library’s Board of Trustees, and then by the public. The library building committee has outlined a public design review process that will include a series of public meetings, a liaison group of West Boise neighborhood leaders, and opportunities for online review and comment. Stay tuned for more details. June - Hillcrest & Collister Leases Approved , West Boise Design BeginsCouncil Approves Leases for Hillcrest & Collister Libraries At its June 12 meeting, Boise City Council approved lease agreements for space for two new libraries at Hillcrest and Collister Shopping Centers. The new libraries are expected to open in late November or early December 2007. Tenant improvements will start when permits are issued, anticipated for mid-to-late July. Once they begin, improvements will take 14-16 weeks. Mayor Bieter and other dignitaries will celebrate the start of improvements for the new libraries in a mock demolition event soon after permits are issued. Library staff has started ordering books, movies, and other materials for the branch collections. Hiring of additional employees to staff the new libraries will start soon after tenant improvements begin. Design Begins on Cole & Ustick Library in West Boise Fletcher Farr Ayotte, Inc., the architectural firm chosen for the new West Boise library at Cole & Ustick, began design work in June. Public comment will be invited during the initial design stages through September 2007 via neighborhood open houses, meetings and feedback sessions. More Branch Library Information & History
Last Updated: 10/29/2009 JMH |
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Staff for the Collister library has been hired. Branch manager
Jillian Subach is busy with staff training and management of all of the hundreds
of details involved in opening a new branch. 
Construction
Nears Completion at Collister 
Interior
Painting Begins at Hillcrest 
West
Boise Library's Design Review Continues
October
work at the Collister library site included hanging drywall, taping and
texturing and installing in-wall electrical and plumbing. We'll be starting
demolition of the cinderblock storefront shortly, then replacing it with nice
big windows. 
Framing
is well along in the Hillcrest space, and the "underslab utilities" have been
completed (electrical and plumbing installed in the concrete floor). In
November, the crew will continue mechanical, plumbing and electrical work, and
will begin hanging drywall and taping and texturing. The Hillcrest library is
scheduled to open in January 2008.
The
Friends of Boise Public Library presented a check for $237,000 to Mayor David
Bieter and Library Board president Jim Thompson at today's City Council meeting.
The donation will fund books, movies, music and other materials for two new
neighborhood libraries, scheduled to open later this year in the Collister and
Hillcrest shopping centers. 
Mayor
Bieter, the Library Board and other community leaders used golden sledgehammers
to smash the last standing interior wall this morning at the site of the future
LIBRARY! at Collister. A crowd of 89 attended the ceremony in the
Collister Shopping Center. The symbolic “wallbreaking” marked the
beginning of work on the new library at 4724 West State St. 
Meanwhile,
library and city staff members have been busy putting all of the elements in
place for the anticipated late November / early December openings of the
libraries, including: 
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