From the Ground Up: Midtown Carnegie Branch Library addition and renovation

Owner: Springfield-Greene County Library District
General contractor: Crossland Construction Co. Inc.
Architect: Dake Wells Architecture Inc.
Engineers: Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc., civil; RTM Engineering Consultants LLC, structural; and Interpres Building Solutions LLC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Size: 2,300 square feet
Cost: $4.45 million
Funding source: American Rescue Plan Act
Estimated completion: June
Project description: An addition that is now under construction is intended to provide a new entrance to the Midtown Carnegie Branch of the Springfield-Greene County Library District, according to Eva Pelkey, branch manager for the library. Pelkey said the accessible entrance will provide pathways to each floor of the library, and what she called “our clunky exterior elevator” has been replaced with covered, accessible ramps to both the lower level and the first floor. The interior elevator will also be repaired with a new cylinder installed, she said. Renovations are also included in the project. As part of the project, a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is already in place throughout the building, replacing a very old boiler, and the system has been modernized for energy efficiency. Pelkey added that a brick building in the library’s parking lot already has a new loading dock in place to facilitate sorting of books for the Friends of the Library’s biannual book sale.