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| Arlington Hills Library, the Carnegie library built in 1917, looks to be decommissioned in the near future. A preliminary plan is in place to build a combined East Side library and recreation center to serve the community. submitted photo
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'East Side Hub' idea joins library and rec center
Plan replaces Arlington Hills Library, but keeps historic site
Cory Streeter
interim news editor
A preliminary study by the St. Paul Public Libraries calls for a future joint library and recreation center for the East Side, bringing the usable library space from roughly 5,600 square feet at the cramped Arlington Hills location to around 18,500 square feet at the new site.
The "East Side Hub" would relieve the current Arlington Hills site of its duties as a public library, but there are no plans to tamper with the historic Carnegie building constructed in 1917, according to Interim Library Director Sue Ellingwood.
Looking at Payne and Maryland
Ellingwood said the library board is talking with the St. Paul Parks and Recreation department and members of the community about locating the building campus near Payne and Maryland avenues.
"That's what we're working toward, but we're in the initial stages of planning," Ellingwood said. "We have a facilities plan ... a real basic plan about where we might go with our buildings."
Ellingwood said the plan would cost about $12 million, but that number could easily change depending on architecture and the contractors chosen for the building.
Sheree Savage, library marketing and communications manager, emphasized that this is still a preliminary plan, with nothing set in stone that it's going to happen. This study was just a way to conduct research to plan a facility that will best serve the needs of the community.
According to the Branch Programming Study by the St. Paul Public Libraries, the new library "will contribute to bettering the quality of life on the East Side and become a gathering place for all residents. As a vibrant partner in the community, it will be an anchor for the neighborhood and a source of civic pride."
Carnegie doesn't meet code
The existing Arlington Hills Library, though historic, was deemed by the study to be inadequate given the community's needs. Renovated in 1988 and 1997, the Carnegie building doesn't meet the standards for building codes in the modern age, and expansion isn't an option at the site. Arlington Hills serves a large youth population, but the study said there are few places to accommodate an adult library patron.
Even the space for the youth patrons is limited. Melanie Huggins, library director (currently on maternity leave), said in a previous article in the East Side Review that in the limited space at Arlington Hills, it still serves more kindergartners to 14-year-olds that any other library in the city.
Regardless of any plans to move to a new East Side library, the Arlington Hills building will be safe. Ellingwood said the Carnegie libraries and buildings must remain protected. "They're architectural jewels," she said. "That building would have to maintain some active life."
Cory Streeter can be reached at 651-748-7823 or at eastside@lillienews.com
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