SEQUIM — It may look a lot like a demolition, but the multi-million-dollar remodel of the Sequim Library is actually a renovation, with a number of large pieces of concrete as the foundation for a new version of the building set to open in spring 2025.
Workers from Hoch Construction have removed almost all of the structure at 630 N. Sequim Ave. during the past couple of weeks as they prepare to add 3,800 square feet for collections, improved community access to broadband and computers, and new study and conference rooms, along with ADA-accessible bathrooms, a fire-sprinkler system, solar arrays and more.
An unspecified number of those pieces of the former library are getting new lives, said Noah Glaude, executive director of the North Olympic Library System. As part of the state Department of Commerce’s $2 million grant, the building project needs to be certified LEED Silver, so everything from windows and cabinets to garden pavers were recovered to be reused.
“It wasn’t just a wrecking ball,” Glaude said last week, noting a substantial amount of the concrete in the foundation is staying.
“As a library, we do have a focus on being sustainable,” he said. “We are reusing quite a bit of that structure.”
As for community reaction to the library building that is no longer standing, Glaude said he’s heard mostly words of shock and awe.
“When we did groundbreaking (on April 24), it was still a building,” he said. “It’s probably eye-opening for folks to get a better sense what a new space will feel like when this is all done; it’s not just adding room on (to the previous structure).”
Sequim Library staff and its tons of resources moved from the Sequim Avenue location to its temporary location in the former Frick’s Drugs and Brian’s Sporting Goods space at 609 W. Washington St. on April 1.
Glaude said that site is working well so far. The first day saw more than 500 visitors, he noted, and according to NOLS-tracked statistics, the temporary space has rebounded to have normal levels of patron usage as before the move.
“People definitely found it; it is definitely getting used,” Glaude said.
Next up for the Sequim Avenue site, Glaude said, is new footings for the building, some build-out for the current concrete slab and some additional site work. Those passing by likely won’t see much in the way of vertical pieces of the remodeled building being constructed until later this summer, he said.
As for funding, Glaude said the library has enough to complete the project but will look to help pay down a loan using donations as well as state timber revenue.
“We would like to continue to seek fundraising to pay back that debt quicker,” Glaude said.
As workers helped to clear the site in recent weeks, Glaude said he was a little surprised to see how high up the banks of dirt encircled the library structure, sometimes as high as about 6 feet.
“It was eye-opening how much space they took up,” he said.
Other than that, Glaude noted, the only surprise came from workers finding a wallet that a staffer lost about 10 years ago.
“He still works here; he probably lost it while cleaning the windows,” Glaude said. “We got a pretty good laugh.”
For more about the Sequim Library expansion project, visit nols.org/sequim.
Workers with Hoch Construction remove much of the structure at the Sequim Library location, 630 N. Sequim Ave., in preparation for the major expansion project. (Noah Glaude/North Olympic Library System)
