Remodel makes room for city office space

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Darrin Kerr, Grants Pass, left and Rick Stockwell, Applegate, of Ausland Builders are transforming the basement of the Carnegie building into city office space. pennell photoBob Pennell

September 08, 2008

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

Demolition work to remodel a portion of the old Carnegie Library in downtown Medford is well under way this week as the city takes the first step to remodel two of its downtown civic buildings.

By the end of the year, the Carnegie at the corner of Main Street and South Oakdale Avenue will house some of the offices of Medford City Hall as it undergoes a $3.3-million makeover between November and July 2009.

This will be the first time the Carnegie will have been occupied since it closed in 2004, when the new Medford library opened.

Grants Pass-based Ausland Builders Inc. is remodeling only about one-eighth of the entire 14,000-square-foot structure. The work will focus on seismic upgrades, insulation, new windows and other work to prepare an area in the old children's section that will be used for office space.

But more work is planned as the city gets ready to return the 1912 library to its former glory almost 100 years after it was first built.

"My big hope is to get it done by 2010," said Medford architect Douglas Snider.

In that year, Medford will host celebrations with its sister city in Alba, Italy, and the library could be an important part of the festivities, he said.

Snider said the plan is to move the Alba meeting room out of city hall into the library, along with mementos from Medford's history.

In addition, a volunteer effort will replace the front doors of the building with doors that are more historically accurate. Also, the brick work on the north side will get some re-pointing.

Snider said seismic upgrades will need to be installed on the entire building. A structural engineer has determined the original portion of the building will be easier to upgrade than a 1950's addition in the back, said Snider.

Attempts will be made to retain the historical accuracy of the original Carnegie portion.

"The fifties addition isn't the jewel that the front of the building is," said Snider.

The Southern Oregon chapter of the American Institute of Architects is providing pro bono design work for possible changes at the Carnegie.

To improve the space within the library, Snider said, plans are in the works for a small addition that will contain the bathrooms, elevator and stairs, which will also make the building more accessible for those with disabilities.

To meet current building standards, the building will get a new sprinkler system.

The Carnegie Committee, headed by Mayor Gary Wheeler, was formed about a year ago to push for renovation through fundraising, grants and other activities. Snider said a cost estimate to remodel the entire library is still being developed.

The work that Ausland is undertaking will cost $210,000. Snider said the remodeling could have cost a lot more, but the existing heating and air-conditioning system was found to be in good shape.

Jim Lambert, superintendent with Ausland, said nothing unusual has been discovered in the remodeling work so far.

City Manager Mike Dyal said the Carnegie will be one of three buildings the city will be using to house its employees as major remodeling begins on city hall. He expects the building to be vacated before Christmas.

Dyal's office, along with other administrative offices on the third floor of city hall, will be crammed into about half the temporary space at the Microvellum Building, 451 W. Sixth Street.

During renovation of city hall, the Police Department, Municipal Court, technical services and engineering will set up offices in the library building.

Parks and Recreation will move Sept. 12 from City Hall to the Santo Community Center at North Columbus Avenue, where renovations also are taking place.

The Carnegie, one of thousands of libraries built around the world by industrial tycoon Andrew Carnegie, was constructed for $17,298 during a population boom in the city, according to the Southern Oregon Historical Society.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476 or dmann@mailtribune.com.

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