Sandy Library Construction: Library Building History

Monday, August 15, 2011

Library Building History

The Sandy Library building was built to house a market in 1936 by Albert and Ruben Hoffman. They also had a market in Rhododendron. Albert ran the Sandy store, and Ruben ran the store in Rhododendron. During the Depression, the Hoffmans supplied food to a vast area of east county including Zig Zag, High Rock, Bear Springs, Timberline Lodge and fire look-outs and fire fighting crews for the Forest Service.

In 1948 M.G. Scott bought the building and started Sandy's first cash and carry market. I have one very old picture of it then, showing the spire in all its glory. See it at the bottom left side of this page (scroll down)

By the time I moved to Sandy in 1978, the building was sectioned into a Gordon Stone's clothing store, a Hallmark store and a Sear's catalog store. The city bought it in 1989 for the Library and Police Departments. Shortly after that the Sears store moved out and the South East corner of the building became a Karate studio.

I would love to learn more about the building. What do you remember about this building? Can you supply some history? Do you have any pictures you would like to share?

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Why are they tearing the whole building down for a remodel?

Part of the remodel plan is to bring the 70+ year old building up to current seismic code. This involves removing the North wall and other major portions, but the load bearing walls and much of the structure will remain.

Are we going to be over budget with such extensive demolition?

We have used a CMGC (Construction Management / General Contractor) model to negotiate a GMP (guaranteed maximum price) for the expansion / renovation of the library building, which includes all of the demolition. Our contractor: P&C Construction has an excellent reputation as a CMGC firm. This process has allowed them to be involved much earlier in the process than contractors employed by the traditional design-bid-build model, allowing for a more accurate estimate. Although we don’t expect any big surprises, the renovation budget includes contingencies for unexpected construction costs.

What is going to happen with the upstairs?

About half of the upper mezzanine level in the library building is going to go away to accommodate the new entrance. The other half will become storage and a support area for the library staff.

How long will you be in the temporary space?

We estimate that we will be here for 10 - 12 months. We'll be able to update that estimate as the project moves forward.

What will the new library be like?

We are taking over the Police station part of the building. Most of that space will become a room for library programs, and for public use. This room will be well equipped to handle the technology needed for presentations and classes.

The renovated library will be airy and filled with light. It will be much more energy efficient, and will display the "Sandy Style", much like the updated façade of many buildings in town. There will be an inviting lounge area with a fireplace, and a fun "grove" of trees in the children's area.

There will be more room for our collections, and we will continue to provide high-speed internet access and computers. Eventually we'll checkout laptops for use in the library, and have self-checkout machines.

What happened to all of the personalized bricks that were in front of the library?

Those bricks were cleaned, removed and are being stored until they can be replaced.