Architect of downtown plan extols TrueNorth site for library

The architect who helped design the blueprint for redevelopment in the downtown in 2007 spoke most favorably last night about the TrueNorth site across Fourth Avenue SE from Greene Square Park as the best place to put a new $45-million library.

Lonnie Laffen, of JLG Architects, Grand Forks, N.D., began his remarks to the City Council by calling all three sites under consideration - the library board's favorite, the Gazette Communications block, the Emerald Knights block and the TrueNorth block - all “excellent” sites. He said, in fact, it might be considered “splitting hairs” to favor one site over another. But that didn't stop him from pointing out pluses and minuses.

It was the TrueNorth site, he said, that had “the potential to be truly special.”

He said the TrueNorth's “relationship” to Greene Square Park “could make the library really unique in your community.”

He suggested that the council consider trying to “raise the bar” for the library project, noting that the library was at the top of list of new amenities that could attract people and development, in particular housing development, to the downtown.

Laffen also noted that the TrueNorth site is in proximity to the city-owned Fourth Avenue parking ramp, and he suggested that the city's skywalk system could be extended from the ramp to a library at the TrueNorth site.

The TrueNorth site, he said, might take more time to get possession of, but he called the library a 100-year project and said, “Give yourself some time.”

Laffen said the Gazette and TrueNorth sites both had advantages over the Emerald Knights site because of their relationship to Greene Square Park, because they would be more pedestrian-friendly, because they were closer to a proposed new bus depot and because both had a chance to spur housing development in the downtown.

Council member Kris Gulick, who is shaping up to be a crucial swing vote in next week's scheduled library-site decision, asked Laffen if it made best sense to put the library on the Emerald Knights site because of its proximity to the city's newly created Medical District in the area between the community's two hospitals.

Laffen suggested that the Medical District would be the catalyst for the development of the Emerald Knights site, while the library could play that role at the other two possible library sites.

Council members Monica Vernon and Pat Shey hustled to get Laffen to appear at last night's council meeting because they believe the council should pick a library site based on where it best fits into the city's downtown. Both have said they like the TrueNorth site.

Last week, Vernon asked city staff to report on the level of flood water in 2008 on the TrueNorth site - the library board said water on the site in 2008 worked against it. And last night, staff said that TrueNorth reported to the city that the main floor of the building had no water while one area of the main level, three feet below street level, had 18 inches of water.

The nine-member council's three new members, Mayor Ron Corbett and at-large council members Don Karr and Chuck Swore, all ran for office last year bemoaning the city's use of consultants.

After Laffen was finished, Corbett focused on Laffen's comment that the difference in the sites was “splitting hairs.” Corbett has said he favors the Emerald Knights site.

Karr told Laffen that the city's last two library locations did not spur any sort of development around them and so why would this one.

Laffen said cities that saw their downtowns decline began seeing a resurgence starting about 25 years ago because of amenities that spurred housing development in the downtown. He said his town of Grand Forks, which was hit by a flood in 2007, is hardly known as a “cool” place, yet housing developments are under way in the downtown there, he said.