Detroit — The Detroit Public Library system, the largest municipal system in Michigan with some buildings more than a century old, is taking a comprehensive look at its facilities for the first time in decades to determine what they’ll need to structurally survive.
Then officials will try to answer an even bigger question: How to pay for the updates?
The library system has hired the firm Quinn Evans Architects for up to $547,500 to conduct an assessment of the conditions of the Main Library on Woodward Avenue and 21 branches. The goal is to determine what physical repairs each library needs and how much it will cost.
The contract has been signed between DPL and the firm, a library spokesman said, and recommendations are expected in six to eight months.
Antonio Brown, the chief financial officer of the Detroit Public Library system, estimated the price tag to update the system’s buildings could range from $200 million to $300 million. Whatever the cost is, library officials said they won’t be able to cover it alone.
“We don’t have enough money to handle the challenges that this structural assessment is going to unveil to us,” Brown told the Detroit City Council during a March budget hearing.
He told the council that the library system might seek philanthropic or corporate partnerships to help cover the cost.
The structural assessment marks the latest significant moment for the Detroit Public Library system after a series of serious challenges over the last two decades. It struggled with funding for years, structural problems that forced the closure of some branches and navigating the city’s bankruptcy. In 2021, historic summer floods damaged some buildings.
Still, some City Council members are applauding how the library has navigated such big obstacles. The system now has a $72 million fund balance, said Councilman Scott Benson.
“That’s amazing for an organization that was once worried about keeping the lights on and the doors open,” Benson said.
Benson has proposed examining whether the library system could issue bonds to finance the capital improvements after the structural assessment is completed.
Even as they wait for the study, library officials are moving forward with updates to three branches that have been closed for months, if not longer, in a bid to get them reopened, including one branch in the heart of downtown.
Patrons get surprised by temporary library closures for repairs
Running a massive library system with old buildings means temporary building closures are common. On a recent Tuesday, the Main Library, the jewel of the Detroit Public Library system, closed with little public notice or explanation, puzzling visitors to the historic building in the city’s Midtown area.
Surprised patrons were greeted by a makeshift sign posted on the Cass Avenue doors of the library, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. It said the building was closed “for repairs.”
The building was open again the next day.
“The facilities issue has been resolved,” Atiim Funchess, DPL’s assistant director of marketing and communications, wrote in an email to The Detroit News. No other details were given.
Detroit resident Tasha Offut, 58, called the Main an “amazing place, resource” on Thursday.
“The staff here are very helpful. The building is beautiful. I’ve learned computer skills here and how to improve my resume” through free classes, Offut said.
Tariq Lumley, 34, also praised the staff at the Main and other branches.
“The online offerings of books and films is a gift,” Lumley said.
Still, he said he’d love “to see ways to improve the physical conditions of the libraries.”
The average age of a Detroit Public Library branch is about 60 years, and several are more than 100 years old. When branches shut for repairs, the closure can sometimes last for weeks or months.
“The city has not built a library for over 40 years,” the Detroit Public Library’s Brown said during the March budget hearing. “Our library buildings need a lot of care.”
What will the library system assessment involve?
Quinn Evans, which bills itself as one of the largest female-owned firms in the nation, has been involved in a number of major restorations and renovations of historic properties in Detroit and nationally.
In Detroit, the firm, which was founded in Ann Arbor, was involved with the reconstruction of the Michigan Central Station, Wayne State University’s McGregor Reflecting Pool and portions of Belle Isle. The firm also has experience working with public library systems.
Quinn Evans will perform an exterior and interior analysis of structures and systems in each library, along with providing energy efficiency and sustainability options, and opinions on the probable cost. The firm will provide “fully itemized, branch-specific pricing,” according to the public notes of the February meeting of the Detroit Library Commission.
Patrons may not notice some of the most dire needs, such as replacing boilers, which is happening at two branches, Brown said.
It’s not “public-facing stuff. This is back-of-house stuff — securing the building,” Brown said.
In 2009, the library system completed a building assessment of about 13 branches, but did not include the Main Library, the Detroit Public Library’s Funchess said.
Library officials plan repairs in bid to reopen three closed branches
The Detroit Public Library system will operate on an annual budget of $45.4 million for the next fiscal year that starts July 1. The library system also has $72 million in reserves. But it doesn’t have a fixed capital budget, meaning a set amount of money for the constant upgrades and repairs needed for its aging structures.
The issues at the 400,000-square-foot Main include its porch and foundation, Brown said. The outdoor porch hasn’t “been utilized for a long time because there’s structural damage,” he said.
The good news is that three closed branches are getting extensive repairs with the aim of reopening them: the Knapp, Monteith and Skillman branches.
The downtown Rose and Robert Skillman branch, now in the shadow of new Hudson’s Detroit, is set to reopen next year, thanks in part to $3 million from the city’s Downtown Development Authority, a quasi-public agency that supports downtown business and infrastructure.
Like all library branches, the Skillman closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has remained shut due to the construction of the Hudson’s building.
Detroit Public Library officials have said the construction of the massive Hudson’s project caused some damage to the 94-year-old Skillman at 121 Gratiot Ave., a cost that was covered mainly by insurance.
The Skillman will get a new roof; its front entrance will be spruced up; exterior lighting and landscaping will be refined; and its windows replaced, Brown said.
On the city’s east side, the John Monteith branch, at 14100 Kercheval Ave., is also getting multiple updates, including a new roof, a new boiler, air conditioning upgrades, electrical work and adjustments to make the branch comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, according to city documents.
Before the update, the century-old Monteith still had its original boiler from 1926. The library system has allocated $2 million for the Monteith repairs, Funchess said.
Prior to the pandemic, the Monteith branch was only operating two days a week. DPL officials have not set a firm reopening date for the branch, Funchess said.
On the northeast side, the Elizabeth Knapp branch at 13330 Conant St. closed earlier this year when its boiler failed. The next phase involves replacing the HVAC system, officials said. Replacing the boiler costs around $154,000, Funchess said.
Repair estimate sought after voters approved library millage
The repair estimate comes after 85% of Detroit voters in August approved Proposal L, which renewed the current library-dedicated property tax of 3.9943 mills, or $3.9943 per $1,000 of taxable property value, for the next 10 years. The millage revenue amounts to 85% of the library system’s operating budget.
Proposal L’s passage also meant that tax dollars meant for the library system will no longer be diverted by the Downtown Development Authority to help fund other projects. Library officials said it will add an estimated $3 million to its annual budget.
Two other tax increment finance authorities divert around $700,000 in funding from the Detroit Public Library system annually, Funchess said. They are the Brownfield Improvement Fund and the Chrysler LDFA Improvement Fund.
While some City Council members occasionally criticized how DPL operated in the past, they offered more encouraging words during this year’s annual budget hearings.
Benson said he has been “very aggressive with the library and push you all” about funding and overall operations.
“This year, I’m very pleased. You are moving in the right direction,” he told Brown and Library Director Jo Anne G. Mondowney.
Detroit City Council President James Tate also applauded library officials.
“Back in the day, all you heard is, ‘It’s going to close, it’s going to close,'” Tate said. “You’ve all done a tremendous job with sparse funding.”
How to pay for updates?
But how the library system will pay for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in capital needs for its branches remains unanswered.
Benson introduced a motion earlier this spring, approved by the City Council, to have the city explore issuing bonds to pay for the library repairs and upgrades. That’s a move that would require voter approval.
Councilwoman Angela Whitfield-Calloway suggested the city seek affluent former Detroiters who could sponsor some of the libraries.
Library officials said they are looking into partnerships with foundations and corporations. The results of the building assessment will help define its strategy, Brown said.
“I think all opportunities are on the table at this point,” Brown said.
laguilar@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Public Library seeks true cost to fix deteriorating libraries
Reporting by Louis Aguilar, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
