Before it opens in November to serve library patrons, the former YWCA building on Bancroft Road will have benefited from $1 million in renovations.
Developer Robert Baxter, of Baxter Building Corporation, has reworked the façade of the building, updated all the mechanical systems, covered the YWCA’s pool with flooring, constructed a stone walkway and pergola and made other improvements. The building is nearly ready for Adriance Memorial Library patrons and staff, he said.
Library executive director Tom Lawrence said he is pleased with the improvements. “It’s a proud-looking building now, not as sad as it used to be,” said Lawrence.
During the month of October, Adriance will be closed for the move. Patrons should use the Arlington Branch Library at 504 Haight Ave. next month.
“We appreciate the public’s support and hope for their patience,” said Lawrence of the transition.
In early November, Adriance will open its doors at the former YWCA, where it will continue to operate for about a year-and-a-half during a major $14.5 million renovation project at its Market Street facility. Voters approved the expansion, which more than doubles the space for patrons and collections, by referendum in November 2006. Following renovations, the building will reopen in summer of 2009.
A total of $420,000 has been budgeted for the temporary relocation, and the library will rent the 17,500-square-foot YWCA on Bancroft Road for $200,000 per year. Lawrence said the plans were proceeding as scheduled and within budget so far. “For a move of this sort, it’s going as smoothly as can be imagined,” he said.
City staff members are currently considering whether bus service should be changed to boost public access. The bus currently stops at Bancroft and Ferris Lane, about two blocks away. Public works staff members will examine routes and schedules and coordinate with the city administrator on potential changes.
At a neighborhood meeting in July, some residents said buses driving down Bancroft would disrupt what has been a quiet, residential street ever since the YWCA began losing patrons decades ago.
At that gathering and others, neighbors expressed views in opposition and support of the temporary library move. But the project advanced with Planning Board site plan approval in July. Under the terms of the special permit granted by the Planning Board by 4-0 vote, the library will be required to seek renewal after three years if the project extends beyond its anticipated 2009 completion date.
Lawrence has called affordability the “the bottom line” in the library’s choice of the former YWCA, which he said was “by far the most affordable” facility.
Baxter said he anticipates the building will be ready for its new tenant by October. Most work has been completed and he now awaits inspections by the city and issuance of a certificate of occupancy. He is also waiting on phone service.
The facility was built in 1927, and has been vacant for more than two years. Updates were made to all the mechanical systems. Decorative improvements include open rafters, a stone walkway, new paint colors inside and out, window grids, French doors, new lighting and landscaping.
Baxter purchased the building more than six months ago for about $1 million. He has no set plans for its use after the library leaves in fall of 2009, but he has considered luxury condominiums and a retirement community.
His ideal use – as a library annex – might be a possibility that exists “only in (his) mind,” he said. Even so, he is pleased the building will serve the public: “From the bottom of my heart, I wish the library would stay there forever,” he said.
Adriance Memorial Library on Market Street was built in 1898 and was last expanded in 1923. According to Executive Director Tom Lawrence, the current construction project is needed to bring the library up to city codes for safety and improve accessibility for handicapped patrons. The original, historic character of the building will be maintained, while the 1923 addition will be demolished with a new addition created, complete with handicapped access and an elevator.