Santa Rosa awards $33 million construction contract for long-awaited Roseland library, fire station - The Press Democrat

Santa Rosa has chosen a contractor to design and build a permanent home for the Roseland library and other community amenities, marking a milestone for the long-awaited project.

The civic complex, known as the Hearn Community Hub, is planned on 6 acres of land at the intersection of Hearn and Dutton avenues the city purchased in early 2022.

A new fire station also is planned at the site and a future phase calls for a recreation center to serve Roseland and the rapidly growing southwest Santa Rosa community.

The City Council on Tuesday awarded a $33 million contract to Swinerton Builders of Sacramento to design and build the first phase of the project.

“We’re just really excited that it’s finally coming to fruition,” said Erica Thibault, Sonoma County Library director. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s been a long process and it’s wonderful to see that we’re all working together — the library, fire department and the city of Santa Rosa — to make this happen for the community.”

Demolition crews in May tore down three homes, several smaller outbuildings and fencing on the property, clearing the way for redevelopment.

Construction of the library and fire station is expected to start in fall 2025 and be completed in spring 2027.

Council member Eddie Alvarez on Tuesday applauded the city’s efforts and said it was a step toward making good on long-promised public investments in the predominantly Latino neighborhood that was folded into city limits in 2017.

The total project cost for the first phase, including acquisition of the site, demolition, design and construction, is $48.2 million, according to city records.

The project is being paid through a mix of local, state and federal dollars, including $10 million each from the city’s share of the American Rescue Plan Act and PG&E wildfire settlement funds, almost $11 million from Sonoma County Library and $3 million from the city’s public safety tax. California Senate President Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, secured $5 million each for the fire station and library in the state budget, and former Assembly member Marc Levine secured $1 million for each in his time in the Legislature.

The project is just west of where work is underway to build a new bridge over Highway 101 at Hearn Avenue to improve congestion and safety as hundreds of housing units rise and more are planned along Santa Rosa Avenue and southwest Santa Rosa.

The expanded bridge will make it easier for emergency vehicles to get across and the project will eventually connect to a planned multiuse path along Hearn Avenue, improving access to the SMART trail and to the community hub.

Plans call for a 9,915-square-foot fire station fronting Hearn Avenue that will replace the small, aging Fire Station 8 on Burbank Avenue just south of Sebastopol Road.

Fire operations, dorms, a kitchen and other living areas are on the first floor next to the apparatus bay.

The fire station could potentially include space for a conference room and multiuse spaces to house emergency operations above the fire station, city documents show.

Dan Hennessey, Santa Rosa’s Transportation and Public Works director, said the design of the fire station met the department’s response needs and day-to-day needs of firefighters stationed there.

Having the new station located farther south, closer to Highway 101 and growing residential neighborhoods, has been discussed by fire officials since they took over the existing station from Roseland’s longtime volunteer company.

Fire Chief Scott Westrope said the department was looking forward to construction after a lengthy planning process.

“The Santa Rosa Fire Department is excited to be moving into the next phase of the new fire station that will better serve the city and our Roseland area,” he said in a written statement. “Providing enhanced services to southwest Santa Rosa has been a strategic goal for many years and we are looking forward to the fire station.”

A 10,315-square-foot library is planned behind the fire station, separated by two parking lots and green space.

Thibault, the library director, said the selection committee and library officials felt Swinerton’s design provided flexibility to accommodate library needs and “embodied what we think a 21st century library should look like.”

The library will feature meeting rooms and a maker space among other amenities.

Outside, children will be able to play in what Thibault described as a demonstration garden, and the library will be able to host performances like story time in a small amphitheater. There also will be space to accommodate outdoor markets and allow the library to expand programming outdoors, she said.

Now that the contractor has been chosen, library officials are turning their attention to planning for the interior of the library and continuing to raise money to purchase furniture and equipment, with costs estimated at $2.6 million, Thibault said.

Residents have longed called for a permanent home for the library, which has a temporary location about a mile north of the Hearn site, as well as other community services like a recreation center and a pool.

Early concept plans developed by project management firm Kitchell and Group 4 Architecture put the total cost of the fire station, a larger library, 20,000-square-foot community center and a 28,000-square-foot aquatic center at about $135 million, about triple the amount allocated to the project, according to a city staff report.

The report shows site factors such as stormwater issues and needed soil remediation also contributed to higher construction costs.

City staff members determined building the project in phases would be more economical and they also reduced the scope of the project to bring down costs. The size of the library was cut in half and the aquatic center was removed from the concept plans.

There is no current cost estimate for the second phase.

The city issued a request for proposals for design and construction in June to three prequalified firms chosen from a wider net of interested bidders.

The proposals were reviewed by a selection committee that included fire department and library representatives. Community members also weighed in on the three proposals.

Swinerton’s vision was rated highest.

Construction plans for the first phase will be finalized over the next year before work starts next fall.

A second phase includes plans for a multipurpose community and recreation center and additional parking as funding becomes available.

Part of Dutton Avenue will be extended south from Hearn Avenue to about where the library is situated. Crews intend in the second phase to extend it farther south to the end of the city property, just north of Colgan Creek.

The city also plans to work with private property owners to help connect the Colgan Creek bicycle and pedestrian path to the city parcel.

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @paulinapineda22.