City OKs renovations to stabilize Carnegie Library
Renovating the historic Carnegie Library for another century’s use will take a chunk of change. Lawrence city commissioners Wednesday said they were ready to spend only part of that chunk.
Commissioners said during a study session they would pony up about $500,000 to fix the Carnegie’s roof and windows to keep the building waterproof. The rest of the recommended $1.4 million in repairs and renovations, they said, might have to wait until a new tenant is found for the building that formerly housed the Lawrence Arts Center.
“The stabilization is something we need to get done so we can preserve the building, so it can be used down the road,” Commissioner Marty Kennedy said.
Finding a tenant may not take long. Officials said several organizations had inquired about the Carnegie, and the city commission might formally request proposals soon.
“I had an offer this year from somebody who wanted to buy it,” City Manager Mike Wildgen said. “I said I didn’t think the commission will let it out of the public use.”
The building at Ninth and Vermont streets has been mostly empty it still is used for occasional events since earlier this year, when the Arts Center vacated it for new digs in the 900 block of New Hampshire Street. Before that, it served as the city’s library from 1904 to 1972, reputedly the location where writer Langston Hughes read some of his first books. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Officials say a thorough modernizing of the building will be needed before it can be used again. Aside from the roof and windows, new mechanical and electrical systems are needed. Other modifications also are required to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
City commissioners are considering what do with the Carnegie Library building, former home of the Lawrence Arts Center. The commission Wednesday approved plans to begin renovations to the building's roof and windows.
The $1.4 million bill doesn’t include modifications that would be needed to make the building suitable for its new residents.
“We’d basically be creating a warm shell,” said Stan Hazlett of GLPM Architects, the company that studied the building to recommend improvements.
A number of suggestions have been made as to how the building should be used next. The Lawrence Coalition for Homeless Concerns this week asked to use the Carnegie to provide shelter and social services to the city’s homeless. Other suggestions for future uses include museums or as a business incubator site. Wildgen’s suggestion it be used for city offices already has been deep-sixed.
“This building, because of its use and history, you don’t want to become a retail store,” Commissioner Mike Rundle said. “Offices don’t fly well, because this has always been a public space.”
Commissioners will next discuss the issue at a mid-November meeting.
6News video: City commissioners want to restore the Carnegie Library soon