Branciforte library remodeling contract awarded to JPB Designs

The Branciforte Library is poised to receive major upgrades.

The Santa Cruz City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to award the contract for the remodel of the Branciforte branch of the county’s library system to JPB Designs. The awarding of the contract was passed as part of the council’s consent agenda with no further discussion.

The remodel is budgeted to cost $4,111,875, per the project summary. The project will consist of $2.97 million in construction costs. The remainder of the budget will be in soft costs. Those are costs that are not included in the act of construction, such as fees, taxes and insurance.

The project will be primarily supported by Measure S funds, which voters approved in 2016. The bond designated $67 million to be used to update the Santa Cruz County Public Library System. Of the total allocation, the City of Santa Cruz received $31.25 million for libraries within city limits.

Measure S will contribute $3,811,875 to the remodel of the Branciforte branch. The remaining $300,000 will be contributed by Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries, a local organization that aims to support the county’s library system.

The remodel aims to update a number of aspects of the library, according to the plan from Jayson Architecture. The Branciforte branch will receive updated lighting, floors, furniture and plumbing. The remodel will also fix exposed electrical conduits and update the library’s circulation desk. Additionally, the library will receive updates to its entrance as well as the exterior patio.

In fact, the outdoor patio will be transformed into a reading area for children, according to the plan. The library will also see an expansion of the reading room, the adult section and the childrens section. The teen section remains the smallest section, but it will double in size as the main entryway is shortened.

There will also be the addition of a community room. Staff quarters, which dominated an entire corner of the library, will be cut to make room for the new room and the addition of a storage closet. The City Council approved the plan for the Branciforte library in January of last year.