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Timing of Funding Plans Allows Libraries/Museums to Build

By Pamela Dittmer McKuen

There’s not much good news to read about in construction these days, unless it’s about libraries and museums.

Double- and even triple-digit increases in construction starts in that niche category were reported in 2008 in three of the four major metropolises where Midwest Construction circulates.

Data from McGraw-Hill Construction, of which Midwest Constructionis a unit, show that library and museum starts were up 52%, to $80 million, in the Chicago area in 2008. Indianapolis was up 201%, to $12 million. The Milwaukee area led percentage-wise, up more than sevenfold, but trailed in dollars, to $11 million.

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Only St. Louis was down, 68%, in libraries and museums, to $5.6 million.

The category compares favorably to construction overall. Other than Milwaukee, these metropolitan areas saw decreases overall in construction starts.

Finance Drives Culture

Industry veterans say that the growth spurt and the likelihood of its continuing are driven by the economy—before, during and after the recession. Many of the projects are part of long-term plans that were conceived and launched when voters, donors and lenders were in better moods and circumstances.

“These decisions were made some time ago and they take a while to work through,” says Susanne Cannon, director of the Real Estate Center at DePaul University in Chicago. “They are not the sort of thing that is based on current financing.”

Richard Tilghman, senior vice president of Pepper Construction Group in Chicago, which is working on several suburban libraries, agrees. “With libraries, many of them passed their referenda before (the economic downturn),” he says. “If they didn’t, they’re not in such good shape. Museums tend to be privately funded.”

Underlying the increased numbers is a decidedly conservative mindset. Most are expansions and renovations of existing facilities, often scaled-down versions.

“If you have a piece of land, it’s not as expensive to build, from a soft costs point of view,” Tilghman says.

In Illinois, many of the public library projects were downsized from their original plans, perhaps by 20% or more, says H. Neil Kelley, systems and construction grant consultant for the Illinois State Library in Springfield.

“Although when they do these things, they’ll comply with (Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines) and bring in green components,” he adds.

Hoosier Museums

One of the biggest projects under way is an assemblage of cultural attractions in the heart of Indianapolis, all anchored by the $275-million, 700,000-sq-ft expansion of the Indiana Convention Center.

The convention center is being financed through a regional sales tax, but private funding is backing a $15.7 million, 37,500-sq-ft addition to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis planned for completion in second-quarter 2009; a $24 million renovation of the Glick Indiana History Center to be finished in first-quarter 2010; two new zoo habitats; and an 8-mi trail to connect various cultural attractions to be finished in first-quarter 2012.

No one is balking at either the cost or the need for such endeavors, says Terry Sweeney, vice president of real estate development for the nonprofit Indianapolis Downtown Inc., which promotes the city.

“Downtown Indianapolis is the cultural center of Indianapolis and much of the state,” he says. “These institutions recognize that they have to continually invest and create new experiences in order to stay competitive and draw customers.”

In Chicago, another showcase project, begun in September, is the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library addition to the Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago. Designed by Helmut Jahn, it’s a subterranean glass dome that will house 3.5 million volumes and enable the university to keep its entire collection on campus. The namesakes’ gift of $25 million made a huge dent in the total cost of $80 million. The library is scheduled to open in fall 2010.

Nearly completed is the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago, which has been in progress for more than a decade. Architect Renzo Piano was selected in 1999, and construction began in 2006. The three-story, 260,000-sq-ft expansion will display works from the museum’s modern and contemporary art, photography and architecture and design collections. It is scheduled to open in the spring.

The budget of $283 million, which includes construction of the wing, renovations and infrastructure upgrades throughout the existing museum and $85 million in endowment funds, brings the capital campaign total to more than $350 million. The money has come almost entirely from private donations.

For the future, projections are mixed. On hold is a $125 million expansion of the St. Louis Art Museum in suburban Forest Park. The design, by London-based architect David Chipperfield, has been unveiled, and much of the money has been pledged, but the museum’s board of commissioners has delayed the project until the credit market improves.

That’s typical, Tilghman says.

“What we’re hearing from a lot of clients across all the markets we work in is, ‘We’re going to do it, we’re just not doing it right now,’” he says.

Illinois public libraries that don’t have financing in hand aren’t going anywhere soon. In the November 2008 election, 11 library referenda appeared on the ballots. None passed.

“It was the only time in 20 years that every library question asking for additional money was defeated,” Kelley says. “It was like watching a traffic accident.”

Still, he’s hopeful. Libraries recently have seen a huge influx of patrons who borrow instead of buy books and videos, use public access computers to hunt for jobs and attend free programs rather than buy tickets to something else.

“If economic recover plans start to work, people may well open their pocketbooks, but they have to have jobs before they do that,” he says.

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