Tacoma’s main library to close soon for $6M renovation. Here’s what that money will buy
Tacoma’s main library is getting a $6 million face lift and new tenants.
The library, 1102 Tacoma Ave. S., will close to the public Sept. 1. When it reopens sometime in spring, it will have an updated digital media lab space, teen and children’s areas, local nonprofit tenants and other features.
“We’re looking forward to a beautiful, refreshed, modern library that Tacoma deserves,” Tacoma Public Library spokesperson Mariesa Bus said Tuesday.
The 95,000-square-foot building will get its exterior and interior updated. Most of the work will take place on the newer wing of the library that was built in 1953 onto the original 1903 Carnegie library.
“It looks dingy and drab,” Bus said of the current building. “There are holes in the carpeting, the paint is peeling.”
The building is getting more than a Botox injection.
“It’s going to be filled with light, look more modern and filled with accessible features,” Bus said. New paint, furniture and lighting will greet patrons in 2024.
The main branch’s collections will be consolidated onto the main floor and the second floor will become the home of work and meeting spaces and new tenants.
New tenants
New to the library will be tenants that TPL calls community partners.
The Tacoma Tool Library which has been operating from the main library via curbside service since January 2021 will have its own space. The library teaches patrons how to use household tools and, according to its mission statement, “... empowers local residents to care for their homes and neighborhoods, house by house and block by block.”
Write253 will have a space on the second floor. The literary arts and printmaking organization provides writing, publishing and artistic opportunities for teens and young adults.
A third tenant is possible, Bus said.
Changes
The older section of the library houses the Northwest Room historic archives in an elegant, 120-year-old space. The room will be open by appointment as long as it’s feasible during the renovation, TPL said.
“The Northwest Room will not be touched,” Bus said.
The Carnegie wing’s meeting rooms and the Handforth Gallery will be refreshed.
Bathrooms, now located on the basement level and long a source of accessibility and safety challenges, will be moved to the main and second floors.
21st century resources
The current digital media lab space will become Makerspace with video and sound editing stations and 3D printers.
“A lot of music and filmmakers will pop in there,“ Bus said.
Teens and children will have their own dedicated spaces. The children’s area will have kid-sized furnishings and an area for families.
Funding
Money for the project comes from a variety of sources, TPL said, including $2 million from its own funds. The city of Tacoma and the state Department of Commerce’s Library Capital Infrastructure fund will provide $2 million each.
Private donations will fund the remainder.
Seattle-based architecture firm BuildingWork is designing the remodel. The company has managed similar projects for several public libraries.
TPL’s seven other neighborhood libraries will remain open during the renovation.
