City Of Santa Cruz: City To Release Proposed Design For Mixed Use Library

Santa Cruz CA

11 December, 2021

11:53 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Santa Cruz: 12/10/2021 3:41 PM       View a recording of the Community Workshop Download the Community Workshop slide deck  SANTA CRUZ, CA – The City of Santa Cruz will release the proposed design for its Downtown Library Mixed Use Project, following an inclusive community engagement process. The design will be reviewed with the community at a series of three workshops on Friday, Dec. 10 and considered for approval by the City Council at its Dec. 14 meeting. "The project team listened to a wide variety of stakeholders and integrated that feedback into the design we will share with the community and the City Council. We are so excited about the thoughtful, value-added features that have been included. From a modern Library to unique, sustainable features to 125 units of affordable housing, this project has a lot for the community to be proud of," said City of Santa Cruz Director of Economic Development Bonnie Lipscomb.  What's New in the Design The proposed design increases the 100 percent affordable housing units to as many as 125, which is two and a half times more than the Council mandate for the project. The new Library, which faces Cedar St., and will include 40,000 square feet of programmable space – 35,000 square feet indoors and a 5,000 square foot roof deck that connects to the upper floor of the library.  The Library will be adjacent to five stories of affordable housing situated on top of three stories of parking. The proposed number of parking spaces has been reduced to 310 from 400, a reduction which allowed for additional affordable housing units. The project also includes space intended for a ground-floor daycare center, as well as commercial space on the corner of Cathcart and Cedar Streets. "The two-story Library design provides a more prominent civic façade for the public component of the project while also maximizing daylight for the library interiors. By setting back the housing towards downtown, the design increases the number of affordable housing units while still integrating gracefully with the scale of the neighboring buildings to the west. The setback of the housing also allows for an integrated green roof over the library, which provides additional green space and a unique, sustainable feature." said Abraham Jayson, principal and founder of Jayson Architecture, the master architect on the project.  The up to 125 units of low-income dwelling units will be targeted at the lowest levels of affordability — very low-income and extremely low-income, which ranges from approximately $33,570 and $67,140 for a four-person household. In addition, the project will include supportive services for residents, such as on-site housing support services for disabled individuals and their families and the on-site infant and toddler childcare facility.  Innovative green features will be integrated throughout the project, such as rooftop solar, high-performance windows, and daylit interiors that will reduce energy consumption from artificial light. The green roof will support stormwater management, improve health benefits due to reduced pollution, provide energy savings due to reduced heat gain, and mitigate the urban heat island effect exacerbated by surface parking lots. Also, in an effort to further decrease the carbon impacts for the building, the project will be all-electric. This will be a major improvement over the existing library, which relies on gas to power HVAC and hot water systems. The design team is also exploring "Zero Net Energy" for the library, with the entirety of the library's energy use offset by solar panel electrical production. For more information, visit cityofsantacruz.com/mixeduselibrary. ### This press release was produced by the City of Santa Cruz. The views expressed here are the author's own.