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Library picks Cleveland firm for historic renovation
Contractors urge board to keep funds in Valley
YOUNGSTOWN
The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County Board of Trustees has settled on a Cleveland-area firm to lead a $21 million renovation of the library’s historic, 109-year-old main branch along Wick Avenue.
The decision came after a consortium of Mahoning Valley contractors who were the runner-up for the job urged the board by letter to give them a second look and keep at least some of that money in the community. However, the board didn’t see that letter, officials said.
During a special meeting Thursday afternoon, the board chose Bostwick Design Partnership of Cleveland as its architect to handle revitalization of the 1910-built Carnegie library.
The firm will work locally with RBF CoLab President Paul Hagman, whose previous design projects include renovations of Youngstown’s Stambaugh Building and John R. Davis Building. CT Consultants, which recently completed improvements to Wick Avenue, will provide civil engineering work.
“We recognize the significance of this building being a Carnegie library with over 100 years of history,” said library board President David Ritchie. “We want to preserve the history and traditions of the past, while also providing for the services and technologies that are so much in demand today.
“Our goal is that the modifications to this landmark building will accomplish both.”
Richard Ortmeyer, Bostwick principal, said he’s worked on at least 30 library projects since joining the firm, including a multi-phase upgrade to the 1925-built main branch of the Cleveland Public Library and its Louis Stokes Wing in 1997.
“This is the kind of project, I’d say me personally, but a lot of architects live to do,” he said.
“These projects come along once in a generation and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to work with this library and this community to make this building new again.”
Library Executive Director Aimee Fifarek said administrators expect the design and community input process to take between 12 and 18 months, based on the proposals received.
Construction could last another two to three years, depending on whether administrators decide to phase the project or shut the branch down entirely during renovation.
Trustees have been saving up the $21 million in renovation funds for well over a decade, by rolling over year-end balances, said library spokeswoman Janet Loew. The renovation will not be funded by loans or levies, she said.
A group of firms in a “virtual tie” with Bostwick and CT Consultants for the job submitted a letter to the board April 16, the day after interviews were held.
In it, HBM Architects of Cleveland and AXIOM Architects – a collaborative among Strollo Architects of Youngstown, BSHM Architects Inc. of Youngstown and Phillips Sekanick Architects of Warren – suggest their bid would keep at least some of the library’s $21 million in the Mahoning Valley.
“We have very purposefully assembled this team to keep much of the work, and fee, here in the Valley,” the letter states.
“No less than 12 Youngstown-based design professionals would be providing design, documentation and field work for the project.
“Our team remains ideally positioned to support the library and maximize this opportunity.”
However, that letter was never brought to the board’s attention, Loew said.
The board’s interviewing process carries a policy of no communication until the letter of intent is signed – expected to be today, according to emails provided by the library. That means any missives from interviewees were directed to the library’s fiscal officer, with the intent to eventually make it to the board, Loew said.
There were 11 total applicants for the job.
In other business, the board also voted to request a renewal measure for the board’s 2.4-mill operating levy be placed on the November ballot. The existing 2.4-mill levy is set to expire at the end of this year.