Construction documents for the new downtown library are finally complete, and East Baton Rouge Parish Library Director Spencer Watts hopes the project can be put out for bid in the next six to eight weeks. That’s a little later than originally planned, but Watts says the construction document draft completed earlier this summer contained a number of “discrepancies” that architects and library system staff needed to resolve.
“Some were more significant than others but they were all technical details that have finally been resolved,” says Watts, who spoke Monday at the Baton Rouge Press Club. “It is a complicated project, from an engineering perspective.”
Earlier this summer, the Library Board filed for permits for the 50,000-square-foot project, which has been budgeted at $19 million. Watts estimates that once the project is put out to bid in late October or early November, it will be another eight weeks before a contractor is selected. That would put the start of construction sometime in early 2016. The project is expected to take about 20 months to complete.
Meanwhile, the library board has not made any progress in selecting a new South Branch site. As reported in June, the board has hired Sperry Van Ness to help it find a suitable location but the contract with the real estate company has not yet been finalized so no work on the project has begun.
The library board has been searching for a suitable South Branch site for 10 years. Watts says he believes demand for the facility is stronger than ever.
—Stephanie Riegel
