City swaps Hunter’s Point library plan for cheaper design

The construction budgets developers proposed for a library in Queens have all been turned down for being to pricey, sending officials back to the drawing board.

Although $23 million was set aside to build the 21,500-square-foot project at Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue in Hunter’s Point, the bids that came in ranged from $33 to $42 million. Thus, the city’s Department of Design and Construction is revamping its plans for the building.

Architect Steven Holl, who also designed the Baker Field sports complex for Columbia University, will cut costs on the original library design by putting in a concrete facade with metallic paint rather than aluminum. The aluminum would have cost $1.4 million, according to DNAinfo.

With the modifications, the city will save up to $4.7 million on construction. The library will still feature an outdoor amphitheater and reading garden.

In the meantime, residents of the neighborhood have asked for a mobile book service until the library can be built, which was originally slated for completion in 2015, according to Brownstoner. [DNAinfo] and [Brownstoner] — Angela Hunt