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New Columbus Library


nowyano

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I'm just curious to see what it looks like or how close to finished it is, or if it is finished.

It is finished. It has been finished for some time now. It is a beautiful building. Riding south of I-185 provides a beautiful view of it (it lights up well at night). The master plan around the library includes a village like atmosphere with townhomes, retail, parks, etc. If they decide to do that, it will be amazing. Here is the architects website Columbus Library From there go to projects, then Specialty, and click Columbus Library. It has some good pictures of the library. I tried to put a hyperlink that would take people right to it but their website wouldn't let. Check out the pics though!

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  • 1 month later...
  • 7 months later...

The Columbus City Council and the Muscogee County School District are reviewing several plans on what to do with the land surrounding the new library in Midtown. Here are some of the proposals:

1) The high-density residential plan calls for 350-380 residential units; a 12-acre park; commercial development; walkable community.

2) The medium-density development plan would leave 26.6 acres for park development; 250-288 residential units; an 18.5-acre park at the builder's cost; would put vacant land on the tax rolls; and provide return on school board investment. It would have no commercial development.

3) New city park that would consist of An arboretum

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Does this library replace the old Bradley Library near the Columbus Museum. I grew up in Columbus and spent many a rainy day in that library. It was a great book space.

Yes it replaced the Bradley Library. I am not sure what the plans are for old Bradley Library. You get back to Columbus much?

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Yes it replaced the Bradley Library. I am not sure what the plans are for old Bradley Library. You get back to Columbus much?

I rarely make it back to the East Coast, ATLman1. I did visit Columbus in 2003 to see an old college roommate who still lives there (in the historic district). I was extremely impressed with what the city had done to old downtown, especially along the river. However, the whole sale clearing of the area near the Old Benning Apartments near the 14th St. bridge and up to 2nd Avenue, well that just depressed me. Don't begrudge Synovus/Total Systems, but that was a big scar.

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I rarely make it back to the East Coast, ATLman1. I did visit Columbus in 2003 to see an old college roommate who still lives there (in the historic district). I was extremely impressed with what the city had done to old downtown, especially along the river. However, the whole sale clearing of the area near the Old Benning Apartments near the 14th St. bridge and up to 2nd Avenue, well that just depressed me. Don't begrudge Synovus/Total Systems, but that was a big scar.

I believe the Bradley library I being used -- at least temporarily -- to hold meetings of the school board and also storage. The "plan" is (or, at least, was) to consolidate the various board-related departments on the old Sears site next to the new library. After that I am not sure what is planned for the old library. It is too bad that the gardens were seriously curtailed when the libraray was expanded. It would have made a great site for an inner city pocket park.

Unless I am mistaken the old apartments there near the old 14th St bridge between B'way and 1st Ave were called Dimon Court. They were a nice example of art deco and I agree that they are missed. Too bad the architecture of the TSYS campus is not nearly as classy. The old Carnegie Library was lost as well, but there is a memorial arch in its honor on the Riverwalk right down from where it was located. Also the old Mott House -- which was hidden by the mill -- is now exposed to open view and the exterior (but not the interior) has been refurbished and it is quite lovely. All things considered, I suppose that the losses of buildings in that area were worth the tradeoff in terms of jobs -- if not in terms of buildings of comparable beauty and class.

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I believe the Bradley library I being used -- at least temporarily -- to hold meetings of the school board and also storage. The "plan" is (or, at least, was) to consolidate the various board-related departments on the old Sears site next to the new library. After that I am not sure what is planned for the old library. It is too bad that the gardens were seriously curtailed when the libraray was expanded. It would have made a great site for an inner city pocket park.

Unless I am mistaken the old apartments there near the old 14th St bridge between B'way and 1st Ave were called Dimon Court. They were a nice example of art deco and I agree that they are missed. Too bad the architecture of the TSYS campus is not nearly as classy. The old Carnegie Library was lost as well, but there is a memorial arch in its honor on the Riverwalk right down from where it was located. Also the old Mott House -- which was hidden by the mill -- is now exposed to open view and the exterior (but not the interior) has been refurbished and it is quite lovely. All things considered, I suppose that the losses of buildings in that area were worth the tradeoff in terms of jobs -- if not in terms of buildings of comparable beauty and class.

You're are right about the apartment name, the folks I knew who lived there called them the Benning. I won't begrudge any city jobs, especially considering what could have happened to Columbus as the mill-based economy vanished. There was some news about the Mott House when I was there in 2003.

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  • 2 months later...

Construction of 'learning park' favored

Panel to suggest ways to spend $6M in budget

The Muscogee County Library Board Facilities Committee unanimously voted Monday to recommend the full board follow three priorities when considering how to spend the approximately $6 million remaining in the $50.4 million library project.

The recommendation:

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  • 4 months later...

Park, pool complex eyed at library:

The new plan is the old plan -- plus a natatorium, a swimming complex.

The Education Park Coalition that backs building a park around the Columbus Public Library is pushing a proposal incorporating a library site plan adopted by the Muscogee County school board in 2001. It shows a 15.6-acre park right behind the Macon Road library.

While looking for a place to put one of the swimming pools voters approved in a 1999 special-purpose local option sales tax, city administrators later had that site plan revised to show a pool building fronting Rigdon Road, north of Rigdon Road Elementary School.

That idea was floated to see if such a centrally located pool would gain approval, but it sank for lack of support.

Carmen Cavezza, who back then was Columbus' city manager, said city leaders needed a place to put the pool promised in the sales tax campaign. "That seemed the most logical place," he said. But the school district didn't jump on board.

The city would have needed the school board's approval, because once the library project is finished, the city will surrender the building and most of the land around it -- the former site of Columbus Square Mall -- to the school district, which owns and operates the library.

School board member Fife Whiteside remembered the pool plan. He said it was never presented to the board, so the board never turned it down. "It was never anything that we got a chance to vote on," he said.

When city leaders heard nothing from the board, they dropped the idea and began considering the South Commons as a pool site, Cavezza said.

But city leaders never settled on that site for the new pool, either, and they still have one left to build, having promised it in the '99 sales tax campaign.

Seeking support for its park plans, the Education Park Coalition now is throwing out this pool-and-park plan to see if it makes a big splash.

The plan shows a natatorium of about 49,000 square feet facing Rigdon Road with 160 parking spaces behind it. The concept has the support of Columbus Citizens for a Natatorium, though Genia Webb of that group says members understand that it's up to the city to decide where the pool goes.

"We are not going to be upset with the city, whatever decision they make," she said. "The city has been very, very helpful to us."

But having a centrally located competition pool near the new library seems like a good idea, because swimmers from all over the city could get to it without driving all the way across town, she said. Right now the city's only indoor pool suitable for competitive swimming is the eight-lane pool at the D.A. Turner YMCA, 4384 Warm Springs Road, she said.

Natatorium advocates want a facility with a 50-meter competition pool and a smaller, wheelchair-accessible therapeutic pool where the elderly and people with arthritis and other ailments can exercise, she said.

At a Wednesday press conference behind the library, pool proponents said Columbus sorely needs such an aquatic center.

The city has four high school swim teams, at Columbus High, Northside, Hardaway and Shaw, said Tim Zabel, the swim coach at Northside. Special Olympics swim coach Connie Sieg said 25 local swimmers ages 9-40 are in that program. Webb said a swim club based at Blackmon Road Middle School has 40 students in it.

Other middle schools could offer swimming, were there a natatorium for them to use, Webb said: "There's just no water."

Earlier Wednesday, Education Park Coalition representatives Josh McKoon and Nolan Murrah said the natatorium seems like a natural fit for the library area, which also could have a city service center, police precinct and school district administration building.

Still, their primary aim is to have a park: "What we want more than anything else is greenspace in the heart of Columbus," Murrah said.

They say a horticulturist has walked the property and believes a park can be built for $3 million to $4 million. It would be part of the library project, for which $6 million remains to be spent, and the library board would oversee the work, they said.

City leaders have said they plan to spend about $3.2 million in sales tax money on a new pool.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Library deal on table: City, school panel approve plan to resolve properties conflict

In the deal endorsed Thursday by a joint committee of city councilors and school board members, the city will clear the 1.3-acre Firestone property at 3120 Macon Road and give it to the school district, along with a three-quarter-acre tract of land adjacent to the Mildred L. Terry Branch Library on Veterans Parkway, which the school district wants to expand. The land would help expand the Terry library from 4,200 square feet to 18,000 square feet.

In return, the school district will demolish the old Sears building near the Macon Road library and give the city 6 acres of that land to be used for a 2.5-acre central city services center and a 3.5-acre swimming pool site.

The details

The 6 acres the city's to get also will accommodate a parking garage to be shared by the city and the school district. With funds from its 2003 sales tax referendum, the school district plans to build a central office building on Macon Road, immediately in front of the city's service center. The city has $3 million from its 1999 sales tax to build the service center, where residents can buy tags, register to vote or conduct other city business.

The city and the school district will share the cost of building the garage, which has yet to be estimated. The garage is to serve not only the city and school district offices, but also the city pool, which could be expanded to a full aquatic center. That may involve a new YMCA building, too.

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  • 6 months later...
  • 6 months later...

Here is an artist rendering of the new Columbus public library land use.

post-14481-1208261860_thumb.jpg

In the rendering the Main public library is the grey building on the left center. Next to that the Yellow buildings are city owned buildings that will include A new parking garage(front right yellow square), the furthest yellow building to the left is the City Services building, The grey building in front of the yellow buildings are the Muscogee County school district Administration buildings, If the buildings can produce a little hieght to them then this would be a great addition to the midtown area. I know the library is 3 stories and the school board offices are suppose to be 3 stories, the other city services buildings i'm unsure about and the parking deck.

post-14481-1208261860_thumb.jpg

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