Officials prefer lengthy lease extension for Ladd Library

CEDAR RAPIDS - Public Library officials went for the 'fiscally responsible” choice and recommended extending the Ladd Library lease for 10 years, which binds them to that location for a decade but could save more than $100,000, officials said during a special meeting of the Library board of trustees on Friday.

'This is very fiscally responsible for us to do,” Harriet Kalinsky, board president, said of the longer option.

The Ladd Library, 3750 Williams Blvd SW, is a branch with an array of books, meeting rooms, Wi-Fi and programming, albeit at smaller scale from the main location downtown. The Ladd Library has drawn 629,822 people and circulated 1.1 million items since Jan. 1, 2014.

This is the first lease renewal for the library since opening in February 2013. It prompted consideration if the location, a former Target, is the right spot, and if they renew the lease, for how long.

'With everything happening on the westside right now tells us that library ...

is still the right place,” said Dara Schmidt, library executive director. 'That is a community that is in great need, that we are serving well already, and the stability of 10 years will buy us the stability to serve it even better.”

The lease originally signed in 2012 is structured with renewal options every five years through 2042. But library officials saw an opportunity to save money by extending longer.

The 10-year option maintained the existing rate of $6.92 per square foot, rather than increase to $7.67 per square foot for the five-year option.

The price per square foot is favorable compared to the going rate of $9 to $12 per square foot for commercial space in that area, according to officials from the library and real estate brokers Craig Byers and Scott Olson, a city council member.

The 10-year lease through 2027 costs $12,600 monthly or $1.5 million total, which saves about $163,874 over time, according to library officials. The alternate option was a $13,966-a-month, or $837,960 total, through 2022.

The library held a public hearing because the 10-year option crosses a $1 million threshold that requires public vetting. No member of the public spoke during the hearing.

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