Architect outlines library proposal

Planned renovations to 122-year-old facility is likely to take place next year.

By: Mark Moffa
   ALLENTOWN — The planned renovation of the Allentown Public Library likely will take place next year at a cost of $224,000, the library board said last week.
   At a board meeting Wednesday, Oct. 10, members met with Michael Calafati, principal architect of Historic Building Architects of Trenton, to discuss the library’s future.
   Mr. Calafati prepared a computerized presentation for the board, outlining the work that needs to be done.
   He showed photos of the library from the early 1900s. Several features of the building visible in the photos are no longer present today. The construction plan, which includes exterior restoration and structural stabilization, attempts to bring the 122-year-old facility as close to its original form as possible.
   The library, located on South Main Street, was built in 1879 as the First Baptist Church of Allentown. The library moved into the building in the early 1970s, after a fire gutted the facility.
   "It is the centerpiece of a very important historic district," Mr. Calafati said. "Allentown’s (historic) importance on a statewide level is growing and becoming recognized."
   Elements of the restoration plan include recreating ornamental aspects of the exterior and a front porch to match one that used to be there.
   One large window used to exist on each side of the front doors. Since then, each window was divided in two. The project will restore the windows to their original, monumental style.
   Work is needed on the roof and the support beams and trusses that support the roof. Steel beams will be installed to reinforce the support structure.
   The second and third floors of the old parsonage building to the left of the library will be stabilized as well. Currently, those floors cannot be used.
   Mr. Calafati, who will serve as the library’s agent in overseeing the construction and dealing with the contractors, said the schematic design, design development and construction documentation processes are complete. The project, he said, is ready to enter the bidding/negotiation process.
   He said six contractors qualified to perform historic restorations already have expressed interest in the project.
   The last hurdle to be cleared before the bidding can begin is how the library will fund the project.
   The library last year received a $134,000 grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust toward the restoration, leaving $90,000 for the library to pick up. The board’s treasurer, Roxanne Robinson, said the nonprofit library can afford $55,000 without dipping into its endowment.
   To raise the additional $35,000, Ms. Robinson said, the library will look for other grants, such as one from the Monmouth County Historic Commission, and will conduct an aggressive fund-raising campaign. It may need to borrow money as well. But borrowing money will be the last resort, Ms. Robinson said.
   "We will never stop fund-raising," she said. "We don’t want to have to be stuck with too big of a debt."