The first phase of the $30 million renovation at the Halifax North Memorial Public Library is underway.
Supplier and designer teams can now bid to work on the project, which is different than how the city typically plans large scale projects, said Megan Gainer, director of facilities for Halifax Public Libraries. This one aims to be more collaborative.
Gainer says the city typically hires designers who try to plan things as “fully and completely” as possible before they get contractors to bid on that plan.
But this time, Gainer says they wanted builders, architects, engineers, suppliers and people from the community to work together day one.
“Making sure that all of our consultants, all of our builders are there from day one to hear what the community has to say and what they want was critical,” said Gainer.
The city has assigned a budget to the project, a little more than $32 million, said Gainer.
However, the actual cost could be different, Gainer said.
“Cost is not the ultimate decider. It’s really about the quality of what those design-build teams can bring to the table.”
The request for supplier qualifications phase just begun, according to a news release from the library.
Gainer said the plans for the building aren’t concrete because they still need to build the team and extensively consult the community for a whole year, starting in 2025 and heading into 2026. She said the community will dictate what building additions look like.
The library has hired a fulltime manager for community connections who will be a liaison for that feedback, she said.
Gainer said construction on the project would start in 2026 and finish in 2028.
It’s unclear how service would be impacted during that time, but the news release said some library material will be temporarily relocated during the renovation and details would come later.
Cultural significance
The Halifax North Memorial Public Library has a lot of cultural significance for some people. There are a lot of newcomers in the area and, when people were forced out of Africville, a lot of them moved into neighbourhoods near the library around the time it opened in 1966.
“They really took ownership of that building and pride and a sense of belonging,” said Gainer.
She said the library feels like a small community branch, even though it’s one of the busiest locations in the city, because they try and serve their specific demographic as much as they can.
As the purpose of libraries evolved from book-lending to public computer access and now to community spaces with a variety of resources, like rental concerns, where to find a food bank, the nearest shelter, or to get COVID-19 tests, Gainer said they want to be a place where people can go with no obligations.
“We really strive to make them a safe third space. So it’s a place that you can come. You don’t have to buy anything,” she said.
“We’re in the business of loitering. You can come and park yourself here all day. There’s really nowhere left to do that.”
