Fontana hopes new library Will Bolster downtown renewal.

By Paul Shigley, California Planning & Development Report, Feb 2006 v21 i2 p6(1)

Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 California Planning & Development Report
Fontana has broken ground on a large new library that, city officials
and library boosters say, could become a building block of downtown
revitalization.

At 93,000 square feet, the Fontana Library and Resource/Technology
Center will be more than four times the size of any existing facility in
the San Bernardino County-run library system. Project planners envision
the library as a lively place with extensive educational, employment
training and cultural offerings. The Fontana library will be a
destination, said Patricia Laudisio, a former San Bernardino County
library facilities manager who is coordinating the county's role in the
Fontana facility's development.

The library site is adjacent to an outdoor amphitheater and a 1937 art
deco movie theater that the city's redevelopment agency is refurbishing
for use as a dinner theater.

"What the city is really creating is a civic center for cultural
events,"
Laudisio said.

Fontana is hardly known as a center of culture and literature. The
hometown of author Mike Davis, Fontana is better known as the home of
Kaiser's huge--but now closed--steel mills. During the 1990s, part of
the old Kaiser plant was redeveloped as California Speedway, which
attracts tens of thousands of auto racing fans several times a year.

Until recently, Fontana's downtown was a forgotten land. Route 66,
which traversed the core of numerous Southern California cities,
bypassed downtown Fontana. Later, Interstate 10 drew the focus even
further from downtown while the city became a major player in the
shipping and warehousing industry.
Recent city councils, however, have decided to reverse the trend and
bring downtown back to life. The library is a key part of the downtown
redevelopment strategy.

City and county officials began planning for a new library during the
late 1990s. The existing library was built in 1964, when Fontana's
population was about 20,000. Today, the city has eight times as many
residents and continues to grow by 6,000 to 8,000 people annually.

"The library that we have is just absolutely inadequate to meet the
needs of the community," said Ray Bragg, the city's redevelopment and
special projects director.

The city submitted applications for $20 million in funding from the
2000 state library bond but was turned down twice. In 2004, the city
reduced its request, and the state approved a $14.9 million grant, which
will provide one-third of the Fontana project's funding. The city has
committed $13 million in redevelopment funds and $2 million in
development impact fees to the $45 million project. The final $15.1
million is supposed to come from private contributions, including money
from a lawsuit settlement.
The city will build, own and maintain the facility, while the county
will operate it.

Because the state twice rejected the city's application, officials had
a great deal of time to consider the community's needs, Bragg said. By
the time the state awarded funding, the city and county knew what
resources and services a new library should offer. Plus, architectural
drawings were 90% complete, Bragg noted.

"We really paid attention to what the community expected to see,"
Laudisio said. "One of their major requests was more computers. We will
have about
205 public use computers." About 25 of those computers will be Spanish
language. The library also will have ports for laptop computers and
wireless Internet service.

The new facility will have a 330-seat auditorium for library events and
city functions. Additionally, the library will have a family learning
center that features a computer center, literacy programs, a career
center and resources for children doing homework. Another 2,000 square
feet will be dedicated to children ages 5 and younger.

The facility has been designed with many "inviting people spaces,"
Laudisio noted. "The two things that really draw people into libraries
are that the staff is friendly and cheerful, and that the facility is
comfortable and warm," she said.

RNL Design of Los Angeles has based its plans on the mission style, but
with modern updates. The main entrance will be via a plaza with a
fountain and clock tower. At the other end of the building will be a
large rotunda that overlooks Sierra Avenue, downtown Fontana's main
drag. Parking will be subterranean.

The library is just south of city hall, adding to a civic center that
demonstrates the city's commitment to downtown, Bragg said. Besides the
library, the city is developing a historic plaza. A bungalow from 1910
was moved onto the plaza and the building now serves as a historical
society research library. The plaza also features a new memorial rose
garden and a relocated stone chapel. Nearby is an old freight depot that
is being renovated for use as a coffee bar and art studio.

Besides putting money into the library and theater projects, the
redevelopment agency also is implementing a facade improvement program
along Sierra Avenue.
The agency recently secured a facade easement for all buildings along
one block. Later this year, the city plans to replace the existing
mish-mash of building fronts with architecturally consistent facades,
Bragg said.
In coming years, the city plans to extend the facade program to at least
three more blocks.

"We're trying to make a visual change in downtown, which, hopefully,
means people will stop and shop," Bragg said. It also should mean that
people will invest in downtown businesses, he added.

"Our ideas are not grandiose and out of scale. We know that Trader
Joe's is never going to come downtown. We know that PF Chang's is not
going to come downtown. We got over it," Bragg said. Instead, the city
would like to see locally owned, small businesses opening downtown. The
aesthetic improvements and the new centers of activity are all part of
the plan, he said.

The city broke ground on the new library in November 2005. A grand
opening is scheduled for early 2008.

Contacts:

Ray Bragg, City of Fontana, (909) 350-7697.

Patricia Laudisio, San Bernardino County Library, (909) 350-6588.

Project website: www.fontanalibrary.org.