DAKOTA COUNTY SOUTH ST. PAUL LIBRARY

SOUTH ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA

Dakota County is developing a new one-story 16,100 GSF public library facility as part of an operational transition from the standalone City of South Saint Paul Library to a South Saint Paul branch of the Dakota County Library system. The process has included collaboration with both libraries, the County, the City, and multiple rounds of novel community engagement and outreach, including tabling at a Farmer’s Market, and interactive activities at a Chldren’s outdoor storytime.

The new facility increases study spaces, provides dedicated collection and reading areas for adults, teens and children, and provides a new multi-use community room that can be accessed by the community when the library is closed. Special features include a custom-designed mural and interior glazing film highlighting historic and contemporary imagery of South St. Paul, and a reading garden for children’s storytime and outdoor library programming. This Project demonstrates leadership in the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of cost-effective and energy-efficient, highperformance and sustainable facilities, drawing on Dakota County’s standards for high-performance construction. The project is also designed as a Net Zero Energy facility, and complies with MN B3 Sustainability guidelines and SB2030 energy requirements.

Howard Lake Public Library

HOWARD LAKE, MINNESOTA

Following a 2018 municipal space needs assessment, which included the library, BKV Group executed a detailed pre-design study for Howard Lake’s 1979, two-story facility. Work included detailed collection, program, and furnishings analysis, an evaluation of the cast-in-place concrete structure’s capacity for expansion, code compliance upgrades, and energy efficiency. The final evaluation included assessments of reconfiguring and transforming the existing building to varying degrees, and also relocation of the library to a new site closer to downtown. The greatest long-term value and operational efficiency was found in relocation to the new Central Park in downtown howard Lake, where the facility can be a single story, provide a multi-use community room available when the library is closed, and also incorporate public restrooms to serve the park.

The project’s goals and objectives include: ensuring equitable and universal access to all library resources; providing a safe, welcoming, and inviting resource for users of all ages, providing spaces with near-term flexibility and long-term adaptability; accommodating the continuing evolution of library services; and the development of staff support spaces that respond to existing operational staffing (1 FTE). The modest facility provides dedicated spaces for each age range of reader, a storytime room connected to a secure outdoor reading area, multiple study rooms including one for use by the City as a “soft interview” room (available after library hours), a fireplace reading area, and the integration of a number of book art pieces that establish a strong sense of identity and character.

The project fulfills the State of Minnesota’s Pre-Design requirements, compliance with the Minnesota B3 program and SB2030 Energy Efficiency program, is projected to be the State’s first Net Zero Energy facility, and included community engagement with the broader community, the Great River Regional Library, and the adjacent special education district school.