The question about the library site continues. Should the new library be
built on the current ("south") block or be moved across 3rd Street to the
Nicollet Hotel ("north") block? The Implementation Committee is supposed to
decide the issue in mid-January, so there is still time for public comment.
The major advantages of the north block are:
1. A more visible building at the meeting point of three major streets
(Hennepin, Nicollet and Washington).
2. Adjacencies to green spaces on the Marquette and Gateway Plazas.
3. The convenience of not having to run a skyway through the Library (the
Library would be the terminus point).
It now seems that even if the Library is moved to the north block, there
will still be an interim site so that housing construction could begin ASAP.
In other words, moving to the north block would not eliminate the
inconvenience of interim operations, nor would there be any obvious cost
savings.
The major advantages of the south block are:
1. Because it is a larger block, there should be fewer compromises to the
Library program. (The Library would be a very tight fit on the north block,
and that could mean shrinking or dividing departments, or losing valuable
internal adjacencies.)
2. Because it is a larger block, there is more opportunity for on-site
parking.
3. It is closer to the downtown core and the majority of Library users.
Most of the Library leadership prefers the south/current block, because they
believe that *internally* it will be a better library. There seem to be
others on the Implementation Committee who prefer the north block, mostly
because of its significance in the city.
What do you think?
Colin Hamilton
Executive Director
Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library
612/630-6172
612/630-6180 (fax)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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