New downtown library plan intrigues board, but land sale required
Local developer Terrence Wall's family made its fortune in the library business.
Now Wall wants to build the city a new downtown library to replace the outdated 43-year-old structure in the 200 block of West Mifflin Street, across from the Overture Center.
The catch is the city must sell the property to Wall, who proposes to tear it down and build a nine-story, $45 million building that will house a new and bigger library, several floors of private office space and some retail on the ground floor.
At a special meeting of the Madison Public Library Board Tuesday night, Wall presented his plan with financing details that included his company's payment for the land, city funding and private donations that could include a naming rights deal.
"We have a world class city," Wall said. "We have a world class university. We have world class librarians. We need a world class library."
The board will take up the matter again at its regular meeting Thursday and could structure an RFP (request for proposals) for a new downtown library, which has been an unrealized dream for years due to financial issues. Any developer then could structure a plan that meets the terms of the RFP.
Board members appeared intrigued by Wall's proposal as they peppered him with questions after they heard the plan.
But board member Larry Palm said there is a central question the board must decide before anything else: "Do we put our building up for sale?"
"You're right," agreed board president Tripp Widder. "This is an entirely new direction for us."
The city would own the library under a condominium arrangement, which is how it has structured the Sequoya branch library being built on Midvale Boulevard.
Wall said his proposal depends on T. Wall Properties acquiring the valuable property, which he noted would put all but the library portion on city tax rolls.
"That would be a lot of (property tax) money," he said.
If the library board produces an RFP that would fit his proposal, Wall said he would need the city to act on it and choose his company as the developer within four to five weeks for him to secure the anchor tenant. He could then go forward and likely complete the project by the end of 2010.
Slower action likely would cost him that tenant, which he declined to identify, but would allow for a "more relaxed" timetable for the project, Wall told the board.
However, with the current economic climate, it also would mean he wouldn't agree to start until he secured another anchor tenant.
A delay is likely to mean the project cost would go up 10 to 12 percent per year, Wall said.
Wall estimated the library in his plan would cost $24.6 to $27.6 million.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has publicly expressed support for Wall's proposal and his capital budget includes $1.7 million for architecture and design costs in 2009 and $22 million for construction in 2010 for a new downtown library.
"We're right in there," Wall said.
City policy dictates that a portion of the funds be raised through private donations, which Wall pegs at $8.6 to $13.8 million.
The sale of the land to Wall's company would account for $3 to $5 million of the donations, a naming rights donor could raise another $2.5 to $4.5 million and in-kind donations such as labor and equipment could raise another $1 to $1.5 million.
The remaining $2.1 to $2.8 million would be a "very reasonable" amount to raise "considering the size of the library," Wall said.
The proposed building would feature a facade of glass and stone "specifically designed to complement Overture, without competing with Overture," Wall told the board.
"It's a delicate balance," he said.
Responding to board questions, Wall said advances in technology have made glass very energy efficient.
"Your operating expenses will go down with this new building," said Wall, whose company is a leader in green building with features such as waterless urinals and geothermal heating and cooling.
The 250,000 square-foot building would be at the legal height limit for its downtown position, Wall said.
There would be a level of underground parking, and about eight street spots, Wall said.
The first floor would be used for retail such as a coffee shop and a white tablecloth restaurant, as well as about 25,000 square feet that could be used as a teen library or perhaps retail space for the library that could provide revenues, Wall said.
The library's entrance would be on the first floor in a "dramatic oval" at the corner of the building where rotating educational exhibits could be placed.
The library would occupy the second, third and fourth floors -- about 90,000 square feet. The library also could expand to office space above in the future, Wall said.
The fifth, sixth and seventh floors would house up to six smaller tenants in speculative office space totaling about 60,000 square feet. The eighth and ninth floors would house the anchor tenant in about 60,000 square feet. The ninth floor would include a raised section of the roof to provide a dramatic clerestory section that would flood that tenant's reception area with natural light.
Combining libraries with other uses such as museums, retail and even pools is common today, Wall said, noting that it increases foot traffic.
The proposed building also includes a dramatic "portal" in the side that provides not only a green roof outdoor patio area for employees and customers, but also a dramatic architectural statement -- as every public library building should have, Wall said.
"In this portal we envision having some type of architectural sculpture suspended from the ceiling," Wall said. "The elevators will go up through the building and then will pop out and travel in glass tubes along the exterior walls of the portal and then re-enter the building through the ceiling above, to serve the anchor tenant's suite above."
The building will greatly improve that side of the square, Wall said, which now features "lots of blank concrete spaces."
If Wall's project is given the go-ahead, the library would temporarily relocate during construction. Funding for that is not included in Wall's plan.
Exterior architecture for the proposed building is being provided by Plunkett Raysich Architects.
Plunkett Raysich has teamed up with Demco Interiors, which has won numerous awards internationally for designing the interiors of libraries around the globe. A contractor has not been formally selected, but Wall is working with Miron Construction, and M&I Bank is providing a preliminary financing commitment.
Wall's father came to Madison more than 40 years ago to be president of Demco and he acquired the company in 1979.
"We grew up living, breathing libraries," Wall said. "I'm excited."
T. Wall Properties owns more than 1,440 acres of land and 2.5 million square feet of space, making it one of the largest developers in Wisconsin. The company is structured as a privately held partnership with more than 200 individual investors.
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The proposed new library's entrance would be on the first floor in a "dramatic oval" at the corner of the building.
