Co-location: A New Vision for the Hamline Midway Library

Let’s talk once again about the Hamline Midway Library, and let us now plan for the library that this neighborhood deserves. Such a vision may seem like a dream, but only because the city rushed through a flawed process with minimal community engagement and a refusal to put all options on the table — including, most importantly, the kind of options that St. Paul Public Library (SPPL) touts on its Facilities Direction page in various ways — and that would meet the diversity, equity and inclusion goals our city leaders endorse so wholeheartedly. Let all committed neighbors — from the Hamline Midway Library Association to supporters of historic preservation to everyone in between — who care so deeply about our library be given the opportunity to put in the hard work that is required to bring to reality a proposal that will best meet the needs of our community. Let us take a step back from what’s currently being offered and agree that we can and must do better. Let’s take the time to get this right, and give deep consideration to building a new library, adjacent to Hamline Elementary School and Hancock Recreation Center, that’s bigger, better, more inclusive, more dynamic, and more accessible than anything that can be built at the current location — while also removing the worry that a historic building may unnecessarily be demolished. Let’s do this collaboratively and show St. Paul and Minnesota what is possible when we do this the right way.

Before we get to what such a co-located facility might look like, let’s have a quick refresher on what has (and has not) taken place since the beginning of 2020 — the period in which SPPL claims to have done community engagement to inform the SPPL Facilities Direction, using the architectural and consulting firm HGA. An online survey was offered sometime in late 2019 or early 2020, of which there is no data available specific to responses from our neighborhood, followed by one in-person community meeting, of which there are no minutes or reports reflecting the feedback received. Meanwhile, the HGA report details a Tool Kit to be used for in-person meetings, along with an Engagement Taskforce comprised of only one representative from Ward 4 — yet there are no details about any of the in-person engagement, and multiple requests I made for details from Taskforce members went ignored.

Following this minimal engagement there was no communication about changes to the Hamline Midway Library until March 2021, at which point two possible options were disclosed at a public meeting: an $8.1 million teardown and rebuild or a $3.6 million renovation. While there had been no public engagement about building a new library on a different site, this third option was quickly dismissed by SPPL as not feasible, too costly, a security risk, and a generally bad idea.

Despite the lack of meaningful public input, SPPL chose to submit a proposal to the Capital Improvement Budget (CIB) Committee in April that requested the larger dollar amount, but now featured a choice that was also never discussed publicly: renovation and expansion of the existing library — even though no design work had been performed to determine if this new option was even feasible, let alone what it would cost. On May 10, the Capital Improvement Planning Team recommended to the full CIB Board that $8.1 million be granted in order to pursue either the teardown and rebuild or this new option that had never previously been explored or discussed. Meanwhile, renovation requests for two other city libraries in need of repairs, Riverview and Hayden Heights, were not recommended — raising serious questions about how equitable this process is when one library may get its entire funding request, while two others may get left out completely.

As in the beginning of this flawed process, the CIB and the public have been presented with a false choice, given that the option of relocation — arguably the most appropriate one for our community — has never been considered. And in light of the massive opposition to tearing down this historic library building — as evidenced by comments at the May 10 CIB Board meeting, letters the CIB Board has received, and more than 1000 signatures to a petition in opposition to demolition of the library — it is all the more necessary that this third option now be fully explored, as it may offer the best chance for meeting the needs of our most marginalized and underserved neighbors, the very people SPPL purports to want to serve every day at our public libraries.

Let’s do this the right way and build a stunning new Hamline Midway Library where young people and families already congregate for youth sports, ECFE, and Rec Check after-school programming — and where The Canvas teen center once thrived. Let’s build a dynamic, one-of-a-kind campus that will allow for the kinds of things we all — including SPPL (as they emphasize on their website, noted above) — want: accessibility for everyone, flexible meeting and co-working spaces, modern technology, a cafe, recording and dance studios, an outdoor garden, and more. In the process, we will preserve the historic Hamline Midway Library building, the preference expressed so passionately by many neighborhood residents.

Let’s build a new, bigger library directly across from thousands of Hamline University students whom we should be continuously engaging with to make our neighborhood stronger. In the process, we can revitalize the neglected North Snelling corridor and make it the rightful hub of Hamline Midway, attracting tax-paying small businesses that will occupy the many vacant storefronts along our main thoroughfare. And let’s make sure we do not end up later this year having SPPL tell us that a renovate-and-expand option is not feasible and that we have no choice but to tear down the historic building and substitute a new library that’s only 20 percent larger than what we have now.

If SPPL were serious about community outreach, they would be willing to fully explore this third option, which might not only offer residents the most bang for their buck, but also allow the current library building to be repurposed for another, even better use. For SPPL to shoot down co-location so readily — while grossly exaggerating the barriers to such a proposal— is disheartening, unfair, and a disservice to the community. As is SPPL’s argument that maintaining the historic library building while constructing a new one on a different site is not feasible, given that the City has made no attempt to market the historic building or to give the neighborhood the chance to raise funds for the building’s purchase. (One idea would be to reach out to the neighborhood’s fledgling real estate investment co-op to see if there’s interest in residents collectively buying the building for a new use.) We should not accept these arguments from SPPL as long as the ideas for moving the library and repurposing the current building have not been given any serious consideration.

If we as a city are committed to meaningfully investing in the people, places and infrastructure that make a city shine and thrive, we can make this happen. If we as a city are truly committed to engaging with the community to find solutions to solvable problems — like the uncertain future of the Hamline Midway Library — then we must take a step back and reconsider our path forward. If we are determined to be truly open to the diverse viewpoints on the state of the library, we will allow all voices to be heard. If SPPL is indeed committed to dynamic and forward-thinking library spaces that meet the 21st century needs of our residents, we will move forward in a way that preserves the current building and begins to create plans for a new library in a new location. Let’s stand together and make this happen.

To make your voices heard, send the Capital Improvement Budget Committee your comments by emailing Madeline Mitchell at madeline.mitchell@ci.stpaul.mn.us, contact the Ward 4 office and St. Paul Public Library Director Catherine Penkert, and show up at the CIB’s June 14 Public Hearing. And please email me at jonathan@midwaymurals.com if you are interested in being part of collaborative efforts to move the library in a new direction.