Sometimes, fate just has it out for someone or—in the case of the downtown branch library—something says Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel in her latest column.
“Multiple times over the past dozen years the stars have crossed to thwart this project,” Riegel writes. “Most recently they’ve collided as if by cosmic design, to cause what is arguably the most serious setback yet to the long-sought library: A structural failure that threatens the integrity of the building’s shiny, signature cantilever overlooking North Boulevard Town Square.”
Hydraulic jacks now hold up the building’s front, and while there isn’t a clear explanation for the failure, Riegel says that it’s just the downtown library’s luck.
“There’s no reasonable explanation for why such a good project has experienced such bad luck, but the problems date back to the mid-2000s when the idea was first conceived to replace the aging main library at Goodwood with a new one downtown,” she notes.
The saga continued in 2011 when a dispute erupted among the architects vying for the job, after two firms in the running shared information with the city-parish selection committee suggesting the front-runner firm had plagiarized his design.
And as recently as 2016, Metro Councilman Buddy Amoroso tried to kill the library, which he described at the time as “fiscal insanity.” Though unsuccessful, the effort reflected the hostility a certain segment of this community will always harbor for the project.
The latest indignity occurred in late April when contractors discovered two welded joints on a critical support beam had separated, forcing an evacuation of the construction site and a shutdown of nearby streets. There still isn’t a lot of clarity surrounding the situation, and while rumors abound about who’s to blame for the fiasco and how much exposure the city-parish may have, Riegel says chances are taxpayers won’t be left holding the bag.
“Then again, if something can go wrong with the downtown library project it will,” she writes. “However this thing ultimately settles out, history suggests the outcome won’t be good.”
Read the full column. Send your comments to editor@businessreport.com.
