2009 Loutit Library - Grand Haven, Michigan - Dated Buildings and Cornerstones on Waymarking.com

This library is located in downtown Grand Haven, Michigan. The library offers a West, North and South entrance. At the North entrance there is a covered parking garage. The building consists of mainly brick exterior with some decorative cinder block brick used at the 2 entrances. Large tinted rectangular windows gives the build plenty of natural light. The roof is metal that is colored blue matching the letters on the building.

Taken from their website: "In the summer of 2002, the Loutit District Library Board of Trustees approved the purchase of a 9.29 acre parcel at 715 Robbins Road. The Troyer Group of Mishawaka, Indiana, was hired to design a new 50,000 square-foot facility on this site, the back part of which, being deemed environmentally sensitive, was to be a natural preserve with walking paths. Total cost for the project was estimated at $12,118,054. The Grow with Us Capital Campaign raised $1,400,000 from community contributions, and in May 2004, district taxpayers were asked to approve a bond proposal in the amount of $9,865,000. Many voters preferred to have the library stay downtown and the proposal was defeated.

The Board of Trustees immediately began exploring options to renovate and expand the library at its current site. One idea considered was to purchase the Community Center and connect the buildings. The concept was eventually dropped due to the concern of relocating the Community Center and its functions. The library building was purchased from the city for $1 and a new capital campaign was launched. In the fall of 2006, the Board proposed a new 21,500 square-foot addition extending out over the old parking lot. The addition created a parking garage, the Youth Wing, as well as room for the audio-visual collection, a comfortable lobby, large restrooms, refreshment lounge, administrative offices, and staff work areas. The old building was completely gutted to house the Adult Wing with double-sided fireplace, quiet study rooms, the Local History and Genealogy Department, reading area, copy center, public computing center, computer classroom, program rooms, and Cheapstacks Used Book Store. The main entrance orientation was changed from Columbus Avenue to Fourth Street.

The estimated cost for the proposed project was $11,442,000. Accumulated library savings of $1.8 million and over $1 million in donations brought the cost down for voters. In May 2007, voters approved the$3.425 million bond issue to be paid off over 20 years. The Troyer Group was retained for the project, and in March 2008, Triangle Associates of Grand Rapids broke ground. The Library was temporarily relocated to a former Save-a-Lot store on South Beacon Boulevard during construction. Jim Snyder’s house at 333 Columbus Avenue was relocated to Fulton Street to allow for an additional parking lot. On July 1, 2009, Loutit District Library reopened in its new mission-style home. Due to favorable construction climate, the project cost finished at just over $10 million."

Year of construction: 2009 Cross-listed waymark: [Web Link] Full inscription: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/16/2018 theHostas visited it