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Project name: Multnomah County Library Operations Center

Location: 221 N.E. 122^nd Ave., Portland

Start date: July 2022

Completion date: Fall 2023

Cost: $62,528,627 ($37,500,529 for construction)

Owner: Multnomah County Library

Construction Manager/General Contractor: Fortis Construction

Architect: Hennebery Eddy Architects

Engineers: KPFF, Interface Engineering

Other Associates/Consultants: The Greenbusch Group (acoustics and AV), Code Unlimited (code consultant), PLACE Studio (landscape architecture), Lensa Consulting (LEED consultant), Biella Lighting (lighting consultant), Arris Consulting LLC (mechanical, plumbing, energy modeling), Knot Design (signage), JG Pierson (structural), Kittelson & Associates (traffic engineer, street lighting)

Significance of Project and Project Description: A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Wednesday for the Multnomah County Library Operations Center, located at the southwest corner of 122^nd Avenue and Glisan Street on the site of a former Safeway grocery store. The center will be at the heart of many library services, where new books and materials come into the library system, where many items placed on hold are sorted and transferred, and where specialized materials and services for outreach to new immigrant communities, schools, retirement communities, shelters and other settings are centered.

The 72,925-square-foot, two-story building will house Automated Materials Handling technology, getting library items to patrons efficiently while ultimately making staff available for more customer service. Additionally, the centralized location provides an opportunity to better serve the community through the library’s outreach programs in schools, child care centers, shelter and transitional housing, and other settings.

While most of the building will not be public-facing, Friends of the Library will run a year-round public retail space that will sell donated books and retired library materials. This is an opportunity to provide a new, affordable retail amenity for East Portland in an accessible location in coordination with Friends of the Library.

Hennebery Eddy Architects will lead design of the center and Fortis Construction is the general contractor. The building will provide a pathway to greater efficiency with sustainability at the core of the work. With plans for approximately 600 photovoltaic panels on the building’s rooftop that convert sunlight into electricity, the goal is to make this a net-zero energy building in addition to attaining LEED Gold certification.  In addition to the photovoltaic panels, the project is following guidance and strategies from Energy Trust of Oregon’s Path to Net Zero plan from initial design planning to construction document review to ensure Net Zero.