C.W. Driver Companies Breaks Ground on $17.9M Library

C.W. Driver Companies broke ground on the $17.9-million construction of the new Mission Hills-Hillcrest Harley & Bessie Knox Public Library, located in San Diego, California. The 14,000-square-foot, one-story structure will be nearly four times the size of the old library, and will be constructed on the site of the old International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers building located at 925 West Washington St. The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2018.

Originally opened in 1961, the library is being reconstructed to better serve the growing population of the surrounding neighborhoods. The new library will feature a study space, computer lab, community meeting room, Friends of the Library room and children and teen spaces.

With architectural direction by Manuel Oncina Architects and Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects, the project will be LEED Gold certified and will rest on top of a 30,000-square-foot, two-story below-grade parking structure with 85 parking spaces, 76 more than the previous facility. Offsite improvements such as a drought-tolerant landscape and the formation of a cul-de-sac are similarly included in this project.

Mission Hills-Hillcrest Harley & Bessie Knox Public Library bolsters C.W. Driver Companies’ roster of civic projects for the San Diego region. Past projects include Alpine Branch Library, Ramona Branch Library and Fallbrook Branch Library.