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View Winners → Pasadena’s Historic Central Library to Undergo Restoration
News Mar 16, 2017
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The project will include restoration of the exterior cast stone elements, portions of the roof, and will also paint the grand windows. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
Construction Set to Begin in April and Conclude by June
By Gus Herrera
In our new digital age, where seemingly all the answers can be found as close as one’s pocket (or wherever you keep your smartphone) and libraries all across the country are facing serious existential threats, the City of Pasadena has chosen to buck the trend and invest in its Central Library.
On Monday, council unanimously approved a contract to renovate the historic building. The contract will be awarded to UNISPEC Construction Inc. (UNISPEC), the lowest of the three bidders that responded to the city’s request.
UNISPEC, based in San Pedro, bid $172,000 to earn the project, a figure 11 percent higher than the city engineer’s estimate of $150,000 and approximately $46,000 less than the next lowest bidder. According to city staff, the discrepancy between UNISPEC’s bid and the city’s estimate can be attributed to an underestimation of the cost of temporary scaffolding.
The contractor, UNISPEC, does have a brief history with the city, having been previously contracted to perform construction of an underground electrical conduit system on Valley View Avenue – a much more substantial project which cost the city a hefty $1.195 million.
Although the library restoration will not be creating any new jobs, UNISPEC indicated that “there will be no new hires to their present workforce,” the city did indeed look out for local workers when drawing up the contract. According to staff’s report, a “local hiring provision” was included in the project specifications in order to “notify the labor unions of the goal to employ qualified Pasadena residents for 75 percent of new labor work hours on the project … ”
Council’s action approved no more than $189,200 for the project – of that total, $172,000 makes up the base contract, while the remaining $17,200 is reserved as a contingency plan to “provide for any necessary change orders,” according to city staff’s report.
Pasadena’s Central Library first opened in 1927, designed in the Mediterranean-style by the firm Myron Hunt and H.C. Chambers, the architects also responsible for the Huntington Library and Occidental College.
The Central Library building, designed in the Mediterranean-style, first opened in 1927. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
The building underwent expansion in the mid-1960s and throughout the 1980s, thanks to a combination of local, state, and federal money, in addition to considerable private contributions.
The building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks, has received several honors/awards over the years for its design and has even served as a location for a handful of Hollywood movies.
Extensive restorations to the Central Library building were first carried out in 2002 when the city approved a project to clean and waterproof all decorative cast stone elements of the façade. This first set of work was deemed “Phase I” and additionally included painting of the building and restoration of the clay tile roof as well.
Now, a decade and a half later, city staff reports that the “window and cast stone at the grand windows … are once again showing signs of deterioration.”
Council’s actions this past Monday will set into motion “Phase II” of the Central Library’s restoration. Similar to Phase I, this year’s project will once again clean and waterproof the exterior cast stone elements of the building and repair the roof, specifically at the patio and main entrance. Phase II will also include painting of the grand windows.
Work is expected to begin next month and to be completed shortly thereafter in June.
For more information about the Pasadena Public Library, visit: http://ww5.cityofpasadena.net/library/.
