McAllen's new $25.7M library expected to open by year's end

McALLEN — The former Walmart building near the intersection of North 23rd Street and Nolana Avenue doesn’t look much like a big-box store anymore.

A massive canopy, the kind often found at fancy hotels and Las Vegas casinos, shades the building’s main entrance. Towering above the canopy is a translucent tower of glazed glass, which will glow with color-changing lights at night. Stucco walls now soften the building’s boxy exterior, replacing the retail giant’s signature blue with shades of brown.

"The only comparison to Walmart is the size of the building," said library Director Jose Gamez, who donned a hard hat and safety vest Wednesday to show off the library-to-be.

Inside, walls have divided the cavernous, 123,000-square-foot space into conference rooms, computer labs and room for more than 300,000 books. Both a coffee shop and copy center will operate inside the new library.

All told, the project should cost $25.7 million, according to calculations provided by McAllen and dated May 31.

The price tag includes $5 million to purchase the building and surrounding land from Walmart, another $14 million for construction, and a slew of smaller items, including nearly $500,000 for projectors, flat-screen displays and other audiovisual equipment. One major purchase, $2.2 million for new furniture, must still be approved by the City Commission.

The expected opening of the new library in October or November will end a decade-long saga.

Perhaps nothing encapsulates that winding road better than four fat binders shelved inside Deputy City Manager Brent Branham’s office. Titled "Main Library," "New Main Library at Wal-Mart," "New Main Library Vol. II" and "New Main Library Volume 3," the binders recount nearly a decade of highs, lows and controversy.

At first, city leaders and volunteer committees contemplated collaborating with South Texas College on a new library. That didn’t fly with many residents, and 4,300 people signed a petition to keep the library on Main Street, said Stuart Klein, owner of S. Klein Galleries, located across Fir Avenue from the current library at 601 N. Main St.

Money also became a sticking point.

McAllen closed the deal with Walmart in January 2007 as the overheated economy fueled a nationwide construction boom. The project’s costs ballooned, and at one point city officials said starting from scratch would have been cheaper.

In 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency rented the building after Hurricane Dolly hit the Rio Grande Valley, Branham said.

It would be another two years before McAllen settled on a design and hired Corpus-Christi based Barcom Commercial Inc., which started construction on June 21, 2010. By then, the economic downturn had pushed construction prices through the floor and reduced the project’s cost.

"I still think we’re getting a heck of a deal from our original estimate," Branham said.

When finished, Gamez said, McAllen will have the largest single-floor library he has come across. It will certainly be the county’s largest and is expected to draw patrons from across the region.

While bigger, the new library will hold fewer books.

Librarians "weeded" McAllen’s collection, tossing roughly one of every four books, Gamez said. They targeted worn-out, unpopular and dated titles. For example, a copy of Rudyard Kipling’s "In Black and White," checked out only once since 2004, according to a "weeding slip," found its way into the main library’s recycling bin.

As a result, circulation has increased and McAllen has space for new books, Gamez said.

The new library’s design also balances shelf space with room for other activities, reflecting technology’s influence on research and information.

"We have to admit the book format is beginning to play a smaller role in our lives," Gamez said.

Dave Hendricks covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4452.