Analysis of The Gazette/KCRG Site for New Cedar Rapids Library

Link to January 28 Cedar Rapids Gazette report.

Excerpt: Bob Pasicznyuk, the library director, said the Gazette site is appealing for many of the same reasons the TrueNorth site is appealing. It’s on Greene Square Park, sits next to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, and would benefit from farmer’s markets and other downtown events.

“There’s just something about being around that park that just weaves it into the community,” Pasicznyuk said.

What separates the Gazette site from the TrueNorth site is two things: First, it didn’t flood, and that could be a huge factor in how much FEMA pays for building a library there. Second, it is large enough that (even without the existing parking ramp) the library can build sufficient parking there. More parking across Sixth Street SE is also available.

The library board’s guiding principles, as Pasicznyuk sees them, can be boiled down to eliminating flood risk and securing adequate free parking. Some 86 percent of respondents to a customer survey cited parking as their biggest complaint with the old library.