Summary of Third Community Meeting by FOSEL Founder Marleen Nienhuis

Lively SE branch planning hearing focused on balancing strong support for 3-rd story option with cost & timing restraints; a kitchen facility; branch's visual connections to street and park

The June 12 community meeting of the "programming phase" for the new South End branch brought some 75 people to the discussion about what size the building should be to accommodate the programming options South End residents had requested in hearings held earlier this year.
Among the options: adding a third floor.
The hour-and-a-half (friendly enough) skirmish over size, cost, timing and programming between Boston Public Library president David Leonard and Utile Architects' Brett Bentson on one hand, and passionate library users accompanied by some of their elected representatives on the other, illuminated the concern that by the time the new library's doors open, around 2027, the $30 million construction project will be inadequate for the library needs of the South End's growing population.
"Libraries are not just built for now but for the future," commented Bob Barney, chair of the Claremont Neighborhood Association. Compared to library square footage as it relates to population in other neighborhoods, Barney added, "we are really low."
The current plan is for a two-story, 16,000 sq ft new building on the same site as the now-closed library, one that jots out into the park by 9 feet, but preserves all the trees. It will also slice off 3.5 ft from the private alley between library and abutters' homes on W Newton Street. By locating mechanical equipment and library storage on a "partial" third floor, however, additional programming space was opened up on the lower two floors, as per the lego-like massing diagram above.

Utile principal Brett Bentson's presentation highlighted exciting new features proposed for the branch, including multiple large windows overlooking Library Park, back alley and Tremont Street from all floors; one large community room and four smaller-sized ones; almost a dozen separate restrooms for children, teens, adults and families; dedicated teen, adult and children's areas and a "grand staircase" to the second floor. Bentson emphasized the importance of keeping specific programming and collections on one floor instead of splitting them up over several. David Leonard added he had encouraged Utile to use as much glass and transparency as possible.

From the proposed park-side entry, a ramp and elevator would take visitors from the street up to the lobby. Bentson explained that risk from flooding due to storm and sea level rise has made it necessary to raise the first floor above existing street grade by some 30 inches.
Concepts like sustainability and even a green roof would be considered in the one-year design phase that starts in September, as well as issues such as the actual location of all the programs within the building, which audience members suggested could be moved elsewhere. Suggested changes were a Tremont street-side entrance rather than one on the park's side; siting the large community room next to the park; and placing the children's area where they can make noise not but not disturb other visitors, perhaps on a higher floor.

Countering persistent public comments by participants, including two local architects, that a third floor is needed because 16,000 sq ft is inadequate for the South End's estimated 38,000 residents, BPL president David Leonard insisted there would be enough space to accommodate all the programming requested on the proposed two floors, including dedicated spaces for seniors, Latino/Latina and the Chinese communities, as well as kitchen infrastructure for nutritional programming. and storage space.

Calling the proposed 16,000 sq ft project within the "sweet spot" of the 12,000 to 16,000 sq ft sized buildings popular for new libraries "across the country," Leonard described the South End branch's proposed square-footage increase "the largest by point of comparison" to all new branches elsewhere in Boston.

However, as Steve Fox, chair of the Rutland Square Association pointed out, most of the new branches cited in that comparison were in neighborhoods with two or more libraries serving populations of comparable magnitude to South End's, like Jamaica Plain, Dorchester and Brighton. The South End would have only one library for its 38,000 people. A general rule of thumb is to have minimally 20,000 sq ft in libraries serving 25,000 people or more, numbers that are already reflected in space allocations of existing libraries in Boston neighborhoods.

The limited square footage proposed for the two-story South End branch also appears to circumscribe how many computers will be available: only 19, divided among adults, teens and children. It's a small number in light of the high computer usage at the now-closed 7,000 sq ft South End branch. In the first quarter of 2019, for example, with 20,632 visitors, the library had 738 wireless and 2,845 computer sessions.

In comparison, Jamaica Plain's two branches offer public usage of 23 computers to 37,000 residents. The 21,000 sq ft Mattapan branch, serving 36,800 residents, has 32 computers. The 27,300 sq ft Roxbury library has 39 computers. The Roxbury population, moreover, is served by not just the Roxbury but also the Eggleston and Parker Hill branches. They have a total of 63 computers available to its almost 60,000 residents.
(The image below, of what Brett Bentson called "the chicklets," shows all the components that will have to go into the new library building, locations to be determined in the design phase coming up next.)

President Leonard reminded the audience that the library's construction was on an "accelerated pace" and that a budget of more than the $30 million that has been approved "would have to go beyond a whole different level of review," especially in a time of "escalating construction cost."
He compared the South End branch's construction budget to the one for the 15,000 sq ft Fields Corner branch. That library, however, is in a neighborhood of 20,000 people, when the South End branch's reach is for 38,000 residents.
Architect Ken Kruckemeyer suggested that a taller building with a smaller footprint might have the same price tag as a two-story building with a larger one, as a result of lower costs for the perimeter's foundation construction. He also cited the importance of visual/auditory connections for visitors when viewing a building from within an atrium, and the opportunity that offers to quickly understand where what can be found using those visual/auditory prompts.

State rep. John Moran was one of the last speakers to comment. He described how, as a relatively new representative, he had become aware of how everywhere in his culturally rich and diverse district culinary programs created a sense of community.

"I like to dream of a scenario where we do have a kitchen," he said. If money stood in the way of building "a really good community library," he added, "let me try from the State perspective to get you the money."

"It's just an ask," he said.