Lakewood’s library is slated for demolition. Construction of an interim library is underway
The Lakewood Library building at 630 Wildaire Road SW is set to be demolished after it was declared “surplus” to the needs of the Pierce County Library District by the library board on Wednesday. The site will be cleared for future building opportunities.
The 59-year-old building closed its doors in June after inspections found its dilapidated state would need about $22 million in repairs and replacements to bring it up to code. Appraisers say the current value of the property is $1.5 million.
The Lakewood site, before its closure, was one of the system’s most used, with nearly a quarter of a million people visiting the library annually before the pandemic.
Plans for an interim Lakewood library site a half mile north are underway on the corner of Gravelly Lake Drive Southwest and Alfaretta Street Southwest.
The library system plans to lease the land “and own the building, which is estimated to cost approximately $4 million,” according to an October news release.
The interim library is expected to be between 7,000 and 10,000 square feet and will offer a full range of services, including book browsing and check outs, Wi-Fi and computer access, classes and events for all ages, and spaces to read and study. More information about interim services and pop-up locations serving Lakewood in the meantime can be found at lakewoodlib.pcls.us.
In a memo to members of the Board of Trustees on April 3, Pierce County Library Systems executive director Gretchen Caserotti said staff are almost finished completing the building contract for the interim library. Architects are finalizing the design and civil engineers are working with staff on performing soil studies and finalizing the landscape design, she said.
Once those details are complete, Caserotti said, she would be able to share the final contract, costs and project schedule with the board and public. Construction will begin pending final approvals, she said.
“There are still some unknowns – approvals review time, supply chain issues, material delays, unforeseen site conditions, but we will keep pushing forward as quickly as possible,” Caserotti wrote.
Next steps for the new Lakewood library
Library staff are investigating whether the new permanent library can be rebuilt on the same site or a similar site nearby, Caserotti said in the meeting.
County architects determined the 1.67-acre site on Wildaire Road owned by the Pierce County Library Systems could accommodate a 20,000- to 24,000-square-foot single-story building, according to the agenda packet.
Staff will continue to study, explore and understand the needs of the community “that will ultimately shape the final direction for a downtown library,” Caserotti wrote in another memo to the Board of Trustees on April 3, including the size, cost, type of library branch and programming offered.
Highlights of a 2023 library survey
To learn more about how much residents use and value the Pierce County Library System, the library system conducted a multi-modal mail-to-online and telephone survey from mid-January through February 2023 and based results on 500 weighted responses from adults..
Two-thirds of system-wide residents reported they were satisfied with Pierce County libraries overall. Sixty percent said they had a library card and half said they engaged with libraries in person or online in the past 12 months.
Most residents support increased library resources and access, and generally believe the library spends tax money wisely, but remain highly sensitive to raising taxes right now. Respondents were generally split on whether the library should cut services or increase revenue.
