Mercury News article – June 17, 2010

Los Gatos town officials and library supporters are shovel ready for the June 21 groundbreaking for the new Los Gatos Public Library. The ceremony takes place at 10 a.m. at the Los Gatos Civic Center, 110 E. Main St.

The Los Gatos High School String Ensemble is scheduled to perform and the town’s Poet Laureate, Parthenia Hicks, will read a poem she’s written for the occasion.
Work on the 30,000-square-foot library is expected to begin in earnest after the July 4 holiday weekend. It should be completed by early 2012.

The library construction contract was awarded to Bogard Construction of Santa Cruz, which bid $11.6 million for the job. That’s $2.8 million less than the town estimated, so now plans are being drawn up to add amenities that were previously only on a “wish list.” The town has budgeted $18.4 million for the library, with most of the money coming from redevelopment agency funds.

For example, an outdoor children’s garden can now be built that will tie into Pageant Park next door.

The library is also expected to achieve LEED gold certification. LEED is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building standard.

The new, two-story library building will replace the current library that opened in 1966 when Los Gatos had about 9,000 residents. The population today is about 30,000.

It’s estimated that between 600 and 800 people visit the library daily.

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