The Charleston Coliseum & Conference Center.
Photo by Jeremy Gilleland/Multivista.
with being more competitive in the convention marketplace,
the newly renovated venue is a shining light for West Virginia’s
Capital City and its residents.
“These updates are something the community can take
pride in not only because they helped make this happen with
the half-percent sales tax by shopping and eating in Charleston
but because it will allow us to give back to them by providing
them with an even wider range of educational and entertainment
opportunities,” says Joe Varney, senior event coordinator for
the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center. “These types
of events will also create jobs and help strengthen the economy
and increase tourism.”
Kanawha County Public Library
Jaensson believes it is almost impossible to capture the
benefit the library renovation will give to the community.
Not only will the library draw more patrons but it will also
be a space for the community and attract larger audiences for
lectures, presentations and more.
“We can also provide what I believe will be a great economic
catalyst for our downtown area,” she says. “As more patrons
use our library, they will also be drawn more frequently to
the downtown area for other opportunities such as meals and
shopping. The economic impact, as we are told by our library
experts, will truly be felt throughout the community.”
Jody Driggs, principal at Silling Architects, says that while
the library board and The Library Foundation of Kanawha
County finalize the funding, the design team will work on
completing drawings and specifications in early 2019.
“It is very important to the architects, as well as the library,
to honor and preserve the historic building as it is being
expanded and adapted into a modern, relevant facility,” he
says. “The strong horizontal lines and vertical proportions
of the new additions follow subserviently to the neoclassical
base, shaft and capitol composition of the historic structure.”
Building a public library with private funds could even
attract national attention for Kanawha County, as the archi-
tects believe the project could become a case study for other
libraries across the country.
“In short, we—in achieving and executing this project—
are innovating positive change in a way that no other library
system has to date,” says Jaensson.
While the biggest challenges have been finding the right
size project to meet the needs of the community and putting
funding in place for the build, Jaensson believes this project
is ideal for Kanawha County.
“Strong libraries help build strong communities,” she says.
“Libraries provide resources, materials and programming that
encourage growth and development at all ages.”
From birth to preschool development and homework help
for students to job search and technology resources for all ages,
the library’s programming can only grow as new walls and
bright windows open up for modern-day learning.
By Jamie Null
Fifty-one years after moving to 123 Capitol Street, the
Kanawha County Public Library is getting ready to under-
go a major renovation that has been years in the making.
According to Monika Jaensson, the Kanawha County Public
Library board president, a grassroots campaign sponsored
by the Vote Yes for Libraries committee prior to the November
2014 elections created in-depth conversations
about a new location for the library.
“We heard this message loud and clear,
and almost immediately after the successful
campaign—during which voters resoundingly
affirmed that they love the library—we formed
an ad hoc committee to investigate the fea-
sibility of building a new library,” she says.
The committee spent three years looking
at various locations before recommending
that the current site on Capitol Street be ren-
ovated and expanded to meet the needs of the
community. The planned 20,000-square-foot
addition will allow for gathering spaces for
library patrons and community members,
including added study rooms, meeting rooms,
a café, casual seating areas, childrens’ areas
and much more. The proposed budget is $27
Silling Architects’ rendering of the
Kanawha County Public Library’s
million, which will be largely made up of
Capitol Street branch renovations.
private donations with some public funding.
28
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE