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Walnut Creek Library under construction, July 9, 2009
Construction crews placed the final beam on the 42,000-square-foot library during a "Topping Out" ceremony attended by 100 onlookers on March 4, 2009. The library project is on schedule to be completed in mid-2010.
WC Library Foundation presents $750,000 check to City Council toward new library
The Walnut Creek Library Foundation presented a check for $750,000 to the City Council on Jan. 20, 2009 as the second payment on a $5 million pledge of private contributions toward the new library. Foundation President Edward Del Beccaro (fourth from right) presented the check to Mayor Gary Skrel (fourth from left) flanked by (from left) Council member Bob Simmons, Bob Brittain, Mayor Pro Tem Sue Rainey, Foundation board member Diane Longshore, Council member Cindy Silva, Foundation Executive Director Kristin Anderson, Janet Abrams, and Council member Kish Rajan. The Foundation has raised the $5 million toward the capital construction and added that they have strong prospects for additional funds and expect the total contribution to be closer to $7.5 million. Major gifts have been made by the Lesher Foundation, John Muir Health, Thomas J. Long Foundation, J.M. Long Foundation as well as other groups and individuals and includes more than $1 million raised with 100% participation from the Foundation's Board of Directors, City Council members, and senior City staff. 
More than 200 people attended the official "Dig In!" groundbreaking for the new Walnut Creek Library on May 19, 2008. The ceremony was hosted by Mayor Gwen Regalia and included remarks by County Librarian Anne Cain and Walnut Creek Library Foundation director Tom Donahoe (standing in for Board President Ed Del Baccaro). For a photograph of the groundbreaking, click here. The City Council on April 15 awarded the new library and parking garage construction bid to West Bay Builders and agreed to reduce the project budget from $46 million to $42 million. The City will hold a public groundbreaking ceremony called "Dig In" on Monday, May 19 at 4 p.m. at the library site on North Broadway. Construction will begin immediately and the library should be open by spring 2010. City officials expressed delight when four bids for building the new downtown library turned out to be lower than the preliminary cost estimate for the project. Four bids were submitted and opened on March 18: West Bay Builders, $25,692,000; Flintco Constructive Solutions, $25,997,000; SJ Amoroso Construction Co., $26,910,000; and Sausal Corp., $30,637,402. (NOTE: Amoroso withdrew their bid on March 19 due to a clerical error on their bid form.) The City’s construction management team of Group 4 architects and Gilbane Building Co. had estimated it would cost $30,800,000 to build the 42,000-square-foot library and 121-space underground parking garage. Click here for the library bid list.
(West Bay Builders bid form; Sausal Corp. bid form; Flintco bid form) Mayor Gwen Regalia and other members of the Council were present at the bid opening and were clearly pleased with the low bids. "It was nice to finally know what this project will cost," said Regalia, adding that "it was gratifying that the three lowest bids were all in the same range, as it underscores the true cost of building the library at this time. We now look forward to awarding the contract and breaking ground on this important community project." The new library will include larger reading areas for children, teens, and adults, as well as several study rooms, a business and career resource center, an education and conference center, a café, and a small bookshop for the Friends of the Library. 
Demolition of the Walnut Creek Library on Feb. 26, 2008
Old library razed Feb. 26 After years of anticipation and months of preparation, the City demolished the 47-year-old Walnut Creek Library on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008. The demolition of the 9,234-square-foot building took a little more than seven hours as onlookers watched in fascination. The site will be cleared for the new library, which will begin construction in May. A groundbreaking ceremony is being planned for mid-May. Check this site for more information as the date approaches. The Walnut Creek Library had its final send off on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008 with "Thanks for the Memories." The library officially closed November 30 after more than 46 years of service to make way for the construction of the new library that is scheduled to open in spring of 2010. In February 2008, after Walnut Creek's seasonal ice rink closes, the old building will be demolished to make way for the new, 42,000-square-foot, two-story library. During construction, a temporary library facility is operating at Park Place, 1395 Civic Drive (located at the corner of North Broadway and Civic Drive). The interim Walnut Creek Park Place Library continues the same open hours (Mon-Thurs, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fri-Sat, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; closed Sunday) and primarily offers patrons a place to pick up their requests. There are four public computers for Internet access and several free 30-minute parking spots dedicated to patrons. City Council keeps project on track (June 5, 2007)
At its meeting on June 5, 2007 the City Council took several actions that will keep the new Walnut Creek Library construction on track for a spring 2010 opening. The staff report and minutes for the June 5, 2007 City Council meeting can be found by clicking here.The Walnut Creek City Council on Jan. 16, 2007 approved a funding plan for the project and has set aside $25.6 million for the $27.6 million construction costs of the 42,000-square-foot facility. The total project cost, including underground parking and park and site improvements, is $43.5 million. For more details, click here.  Project designer Paul Jamtgaard and Project Architect Colette Chew of Group 4 Architects inspect the scale model of the Walnut Creek Library, which is on display at the offices of the Walnut Creek Library Foundation. For other final architectural drawings, click here. | 
