P&C Construction has completed a 14-month renovation and expansion of the Oregon City Public Library. Scott | Edwards Architecture designed the $10.5 million project, which included renovations and seismic upgrades to the library’s existing building, and a two-story addition which more than triples the library’s previous square footage.

Work on the first phase of the project, the construction of the 14,000-square-foot addition and seismic upgrade to the existing Carnegie building, began in August 2015 and was completed this past July. The addition was built onto the back of the Carnegie building, preserving the historic structure’s original entry. A former exterior masonry wall is now on the interior of a two-story atrium that connects the old and the new.

Library operations were then moved into the new structure for the second phase of the project, the renovation of the 103-year-old historic structure originally funded by steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The second phase was completed earlier this month, and a grand opening for the project was held Oct. 12.

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P&C Construction began work in August on an expansion to the Oregon City Public Library‘s 102-year-old building. The $10.5 million project will add 14,500 square feet to the existing 6,000-square-foot structure, which was completed in 1913 using construction grants from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

The addition was designed by Scott | Edwards Architecture to preserve the look of the original building and diminish the loss of open space at the surrounding Carnegie Park. Part of an exterior masonry wall on the original library building has been opened to become a transition to the addition, and will remain in place in the interior atrium space connecting the buildings.

The concrete masonry unit installation of the project is complete, and crews are approximately 75 percent finished with structural steel work. Upon completion of the expansion, the library will vacate the old space for renovation work, which will include some seismic retrofitting, installation of new mechanical systems, and updates of floors and finishes. The project is slated for substantial completion in September 2016.

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The design of a planned addition to the Oregon City Public Library shows deference to the Carnegie Building, a 102-year-old structure that has long served as the community’s literary hub.

“Even though it’s an addition, we want the library to function as whole,” said Joan Jasper, an associate with Scott | Edwards Architecture. “No matter where you are in the building, you’re still in the Carnegie.”

The Portland-based firm is designing a $10.5 million, 14,500-square-foot addition to the 6,000-square-foot building that became Oregon City’s first formal library when it was completed in 1913. The city-owned building, at 606 John Adams St., was added to the National Register of Historic Places last spring. It is one of more than 1,500 libraries built in the U.S. between 1883 and 1929 using construction grants from steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

A tricky part of the design process, Jasper said, has been finding a way to build an addition substantially larger than the existing brick building that respects its historic American Renaissance architecture. The project has involved balancing the needs of a 21st century library and the community with city and state regulations for modifying buildings on the national register, she said.

“The form that was chosen – it has to be the same, but different,” Jasper said. “We’re really just continuing the same palette of the red brick. Where the Carnegie (Building) is detailed, we’re not to just be a quiet backdrop and not be a big departure from the Carnegie.

“We’re taking cues from the materials, the composition and the masonry. It has to relate in scale and proportion.”

The Scott | Edwards design team conceived an addition that will be built behind the existing building to prevent it seeming overpowering, preserve the original entry and diminish the amount of green open space lost in the surrounding Carnegie Park, Jasper said.

“Eventually, we sited and designed the addition so we did not displace any functions in the park,” she said.

The Carnegie Building housed a city library until 1995, when the collection was moved into a larger space in Oregon City’s Hilltop Mall. In 2011, when the mall space was sold to make way for a grocery store, the Oregon City Public Library returned to the Carnegie Building.

The move was intended to be temporary because the Carnegie Building had long been too small for a library that serves Oregon City and surrounding communities, said Maureen Cole, director of the Oregon City Public Library.

“They’ve needed a new library for decades,” she said.

But after investigating 30 potential sites for a new library, none was as ideal as the Carnegie Building. So, plans shifted to expanding the historic structure, Cole said. Last May, Oregon City voters approved a $6 million bond measure to help pay for the project.

“In the end, we decided this needed to be the home of the library,” she said.

The Carnegie Building is so small that the library currently has only about 20 percent of its collection on display; the rest is in storage, Jasper said. Plans for the addition include enough space for the library’s entire collection, an expanded children’s section, a new teen area, community meeting room and staff offices.

The back wall of the existing building will become part of the interior and form one side of a new atrium that connects to the two-story addition. The project will also create a new main entrance and plaza.

The second story of the addition will be mostly glass so it doesn’t feel like it’s looming over the existing one-story building, Jasper said. The ample windows will look out onto nearby trees, she said.

“We’re really creating a floating second floor,” she said. “It really becomes like a tree house… you kind of get the best views of the park.”

Cole said she appreciates the efforts by the Scott | Edwards design team to ensure the addition doesn’t detract from the historic building and preserve the park space that surrounds it.

“This is a really cherished and well-used park in addition to a really cherished and appreciated library building,” Cole said. “It’s just this beautiful little gem, and people wanted to keep using it as a library.”

Crews from Portland-based general contractor P&C Construction are scheduled to start work this summer. The project is expected to require about a year to complete.

Oregon City Public Library expansion

Location: 606 John Adams St., Oregon City

Cost: $10.5 million

Anticipated construction start date: July 2015

Anticipated completion date: summer 2016

Owner: city of Oregon City

Architect: Scott | Edwards Architecture

Landscape architects: Lango Hansen Landscape Architects, Mayer/Reed

Engineers: Interface Engineering, Harper Houf Peterson Righellis Inc.

General contractor: P&C Construction

Owner’s representative: Shiels Obletz Johnsen

Other associates: Humphries Poli Architects

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