Gardner Co. will assist in conceptual plans for new Boise Main Library

The city of Boise has brought on Gardner Co. to help plan and build the new version of the Boise Main Library.

The initial $20,000 contract only involves consulting on the details and scoping of the project.

But the contract also names the team of Salt Lake City-based Gardner’s Boise office, Boise construction firm Jordan-Wilcomb and Okland Construction of Salt Lake City to serve as construction manager/general contractor to build the new library, subject to future contract agreements, said Rob Bousfield, the city’s facilities program manager.

Gardner will work with the project architect, Architectural Nexus, to transform the 43-year-old Boise Main Library into an “educational and cultural center” for the future.

The city has worked with community stakeholders to come up with a handful of expansion and redevelopment ideas for the main library at Capitol Boulevard and River Street. The city estimates it will cost $40 million to $50 million to double the existing 80,544-square-foot library and provide at least 300 parking spaces, with construction in 2019 and 2020.

The city sought “development expertise to guide the early concepts, evaluate alternatives and plan the best project we can afford,” according to the city’s request for proposals, which sought a consultant that could evolve into the construction manager/general contractor for the construction.

“We wanted somebody to stand beside us as we plan the building,” city spokesman Mike Journee said. “They can help us from a developer/contractor standpoint.”

Gardner Co. has already developed large-scale visions in downtown Boise with Eighth and Main, the Clearwater Building and the existing Pioneer Crossing project; Library Square in Nampa with the new Nampa Public Library; the Portico at Meridian; Eagle Island Crossing and hospitals in Caldwell, Meridian and Nampa.