Friday, August 23, 2024 by Amy Smith
With the Austin History Center “bursting at the seams” with history, city library officials are preparing the neighboring John Henry Faulk Building to house the History Center’s extensive archival collection.
Both the History Center and the Faulk Building, Austin’s former central library, are currently undergoing a redesign of sorts as the two Guadalupe Street locations evolve into a more unified campus with a public plaza and other welcoming amenities, as well as expanded programming at the two facilities.
On Wednesday, Library Director Roosevelt Weeks and Cody Scott, facility manager for the city’s libraries, briefed the Downtown Commission on the project, which was made possible with funds from the city’s 2018 bond program and other bond projects. Additional funds for phase two of this project are expected to come from a future bond program.
Currently, extensive renovations to the second and third floors of the Faulk Building are nearing completion. There is now enough space to continue to expand the collection. The project required asbestos and lead remediation, extensive electrical and plumbing upgrades, and improvements to the first floor lobby. Several unfinished tasks remain, including a new chiller and other infrastructure improvements.
“Everything was focused on what we needed in terms of infrastructure to support the move of the archives (to Faulk),” Scott said, citing the significant firefighting improvements needed to secure the archives. Much of the work in this first phase will be completed by mid-September, Scott added.
“There is still a lot of work to be done. … We haven’t done any regular work in this building for five or six years, so it will take us some time to get everything ready, but we will accelerate the preparation of the public space, which will include part of the ground floor entrance and the grand staircase to the second floor,” Scott told commissioners.
The second floor of the building will house a reading and research area, as well as exhibition spaces and a large conference room with a view of the Texas Capitol.
The second phase of work, which if voters approve, will be funded with money from the city’s next bond package, would include a rooftop garden, ground-floor gallery, courtyard with cafe, exterior improvements and additional high-density storage racks. The estimated cost of these improvements is $54.8 million.
The History Center, which served as Austin’s downtown library until the Faulk Building opened in 1979, also underwent numerous upgrades, including exterior masonry and window repairs, ADA compliance improvements, and landscaping.
On the to-do list is the restoration of the exterior masonry on the south facade. Funding for this work is included in the city’s 2024-25 budget, which takes effect on October 1.
The next big change for the History Center would include various infrastructure improvements, interior conservation work, and sustainability improvements such as solar panels on the roof. These improvements are estimated to cost $15.7 million and will be funded from a future bond project with voter approval.
Commission Chairman August Harris expressed his appreciation for the Library Department’s management of the two buildings.
Photo by Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0.
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Posted in: Planning, District 9
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