Madison’s central library committee debated Wednesday the financial pros and cons of plans submitted by three developers for the possible construction of a new downtown library, but did not make its final selection.
The Central Library Disposal Surplus Property Criteria and Selection Committee has been working on plans for the new library for months and so far, three possible proposals have been chosen.
Developer T. Wall Properties’ proposal includes the demolition of the current Central Library and the construction of a new, mixed-use building at the site.
The proposal by developer Fiore-Irgens involves moving the Central Library to the corner of West Washington and Henry streets, where it will be redeveloped into a mixed-use site, including a 250-room hotel and retail space.
The last option entails a renovation of the existing Central Library by HGA Central Rehab. The developer proposed three renovation options, ranging from improvements in code and life safety systems to a rooftop expansion.
A rigorous analysis of the three proposals yielded the financial ramifications of the three proposals. While the committee did not reach a decision, Library Board Chair Tripp Widder did say the committee should ultimately pick one of the two proposals that include knocking down and rebuilding the new library.
“We should pick one of the two proposals, irrespective of the cost,” Widder said.
He said the developers have worked hard for a long time on these proposals, adding the renovation option is really just a “baseline” proposal, a way to compare the two proposals against the lower costs of the renovation plans.
According to statistics from the Central Library comparison, the total project cost for the T. Wall Properties project would be more than $38 million, compared to the $43.5 million price tag for the Fiore-Irgens plan. The renovation option included in the comparison would cost between $17.2 and $19.8 million.
After subtracting the projected income of the projects and funding from private fundraising, as well as the $16 million contribution the city will make to either project, the remaining funding gap would still be in the millions.
An additional $7.8 million would have to be raised for the T. Wall Properties plan even after the company makes a $3 million contribution to the fundraising if it is picked as the developer.
The funding gap for the Fiore-Irgens project would be $13.1 million even though the library’s projected fundraising amount for the project is $3 million larger than the T. Wall Properties’ plan.
The renovation plans do not have a funding gap.
According to Ramon Harmon, assistant to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, the city cannot rely on federal money to close the funding gap.
“We’ve looked at the funding categories, and there is no category that would allow us to fund this library,” Harmon said.
Harmon said the funding gap for the projects would have to come from private contributions, as there are no plans to increase any taxes.
The committee members did not vote on any proposals, but were given a May 11 deadline to fill out “scoring sheets” of the proposals, which would evaluate the proposals on their financial and general merits.
The committee will meet next on May 14.
