Beach Library celebrates with groundbreaking ceremony
It has been a long time coming.
That appeared to be the sentiment amongst the officials and organizers involved in the groundbreaking ceremony at the Fort Myers Beach Public Library on Tuesday, April 5.
Beach Library Director Dr. Leroy Hommerding, library board members as well as architecture and construction personnel celebrated with residents of the independent, special taxing district on the first official day of construction for an expansion project that will add nearly 18,900 square feet to the existing building at 2755 Estero Blvd. The Beach Library Board of Directors has been working for more than eight years on the current project.
Board President Katie Corning used her son’s age as a reference mark when commenting on the time frame of the project. Wiley James Corning was a first grader at Beach Elementary School when the project began. He will be going off to college by the end of this year.
“This has been time spent planning and investing, and time spent choosing the best possible team to design, engineer and build our new home,” she said. “Our home is to be nothing less than the center of intellectual and cultural activity in this community for ourselves, for our children and for generations to come. It is time.”
Hommerding opened the ceremony by giving library history on Estero Island. The first Beach Library was built in 1955, moved to the present location in 1960 and the current facility was constructed in 1994. In 2002, library officials purchased an additional piece of land to help create the dream of expanding.
“Today marks both an end and a beginning to our renovation and expansion project. The design and development phase, which required the support of so many, will come to an end,” said Hommerding. “We have waited years for this day. With your collective generosity, we have raised over $400,000 to help defray the cost of this project. I would thank all the individuals and families who have contributed financially to this project.
“We stand in front of a library that celebrates its 65th birthday, but more important we look forward to the next 65 years, and we do so with a goal and a focus, that this library will be home. This library addition is a very significant addition to this community, and a very important expansion for our library services.”
The addition will include expansion to the second floor, a new third floor, a parking garage below, two new exterior patios and updated renovations to the existing 15,300 square feet. The sustainable design features a rainwater collection system, drip irrigation system, drought-tolerant, native landscaping, permeable vehicular paver system, underground storm water treatment, building integrated Photo Voltaic system, daylight harvesting system, Low-E glazing, heat reflective paint, waterless urinals, dual flush toilets, occupancy sensors, LED and other highly efficient lighting, highly efficient HVAC system, and recycled and renewable materials.
“In the age of the Internet the public library has never been more relevant,” said Hommerding. “Access to technology and knowledge management is key to our new literacy in the information age. This new building will embrace information architecture in a significant way.
“The areas inside this building have been dedicated to knowledge, the arts, history, science and literature and more importantly as a free public library for the people of the library district and its many visitors.”
Volunteers have been the lifeline of the Beach Library during its long history. Library Book Store Manager Jim Cole was applauded for volunteering more than 20,000 hours for the library cause. That equates to more than 500 40-hour workweeks or nearly 10 years of free services.
Hommerding is proud of his volunteer staff and the fact that both architecture and construction firms are local organizations.
With the project’s overall budget being $7.8 million, Architect Phil Trezza of Harvard Jolly Architecture in Fort Myers explained the construction process is anticipated to take 16 months. The current library is expected to stay open during much of that time.
“One of the mandates from the board is to keep the library open as long as possible throughout the operation. The project will be phased. One of the first phases will be the construction underground with the storm water treatment and then the next phase will be the building expansion. Once that addition is done, the existing portion will be renovated and remodeled, so that, in the end, you will have a seamless and practically all-brand-new building to serve you.”
Construction Project Manager Jim Grant of Manhattan Kraft Construction of Naples said the company will have “local presence” with an office in Seagrape Plaza. The office –and not a construction trailer on the library property– will save library officials $300 a month. A master plan for construction was gradually compiled between 2005 and 2007.
“We will open the doors there within the week. It’s going to be one of our goals to keep traffic under control,” said Grant.
While library board members and construction personnel positioned themselves for a photo op with the shovels and hard hats, Hommerding paid respect to former Library Board Member Claude Bowyer and former Library Board President John Rohrer, two contributing officials who passed away in 2010, by including two extra, unused shovels in the actual groundbreaking.
“I am proud to be associated with this project,” he said. “The product of vision and dedication, it will make our lives fuller, richer and more fulfilling. We are beginning today a new chapter in the history of the Beach Library District. As we break ground, we continue to fulfill our promise to each other, our children and the generations to come.”
No town officials were present at the event.
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