Silver Spring Library Taking Construction Baby Steps

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The new Silver Spring Library, nearly 13 years in the making, is finally nearing construction as crews now work to relocate "dry utilities."

View from Fenton Street. Source: Pre-proposal Slide Show

Don Scheuerman, section chief for project management at the county's Division of Building Design and Construction, said building permit applications were submitted, and staff is reviewing interested contractors, a list he expects to publish in about 30 days.

"We’ll do an invitation to bid with those contractors," Scheuerman said. "Once we get that in, hopefully we’re off to the races."

Scheuerman could not comment on the number of contractors who expressed interest, but the sign-in sheet from a February pre-submission meeting includes representatives from 23 different companies.

A slide show from that meeting shows another new design and layout from project architects Lukmire Partnership.

View from intersection of Fenton Street and Wayne Avenue.
Source: Pre-proposal Slide Show

The library now is planned as a 5-story, cast- stone building at Fenton Street and Wayne Avenue. A pavilion with a glass facade facing Fenton connected to the main building at the top of the second floor creates a covered path for the future Purple Line to pass through.

The library will occupy the top three stories. Pyramid Atlantic will use the first two floors and the basement.

Initial designs released in 2009 showed a taller building with County offices on the sixth floor and library meeting space on the seventh floor.

The County has been working on the new library since at least 1999 when it approved funding. When completed, the new library will replace the existing Silver Spring Library -- the County's oldest community library.

View along Wayne Avenue. Source: Pre-proposal Slide Show

The project officially broke ground in August 2010, but only site preparation was begun. Ground work and utility relocation underway now aim to keep the project moving forward and avoid future delays.

"By doing that now, that will hopefully allow construction to proceed more rapidly," said Susanne Churchill, senior architect project manager for the library.

She said she hopes to start construction this fall. Total build-out should take about two years for a late 2014 opening.

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