Library work to close CdA streets, lot

Several city streets and a public parking lot will close next week as construction of Coeur d’Alene’s new $7.2 million public library project begins.

Starting Monday, city workers will permanently close Seventh Street between Front and Mullan avenues. The upper parking lot at the Coeur d’Alene City Hall also will close during construction, which is expected to last about a year.

Previous work has included tree removal and installation of a water main, but the closures are a sign that construction is beginning in earnest, Library Director Bette Ammon said.

“It’s beyond excitement,” said Ammon, who was hired a year ago in anticipation of the change. “I wonder if we can sustain all of this excitement for a year.”

City street crews will remove pavement and curbs on the street sections by May 8.

The parking lot closure will remove temporarily about 100 spaces from public use. Coeur d’Alene City Council members approved the changes last May.

When construction is complete, patrons will access the library and city offices from Front Avenue and Eighth Street.

Funding is nearly complete for the project, which will mostly be paid for by about $1.4 million in community donations, about $1.2 million in private gifts, about $1 million from the sale of the current building and $3 million in bonds approved last year by voters.

City officials began advertising last week for bid proposals that will be opened May 4.

Cost for construction alone of the 38,500-square-foot building is estimated at about $5.4 million.

The building – the first public library the city has built – will more than double the space of the existing facility on Harrison Avenue.

That venue reached its capacity for books and patrons more than 15 years ago.