How Much Might a New Lake Oswego Library Cost? We Don't Know Yet.
- Derrith Schmidt
- 6 hours ago
- 9 min read
There are currently no final plans, no final building size, no final site and, most importantly, no final cost for a new Lake Oswego library.
But we can make some reasonable comparisons to understand the potential magnitude of the investment.
What Could a New Library Cost?
$77 million in 2020 dollars. Perhaps as much as $100 million today.
One of our neighbors is a recently retired financial and operations executive who spent his career managing major capital projects, including building and operating manufacturing plants. He offered this back-of-the-envelope calculation:
"One way to evaluate the potential cost of a new library is to consider Multnomah County Measure 26-211, which passed in 2020. The bill funded $387 million for library capital improvements. This eventually increased to $458 million, which funded massive renovations and expansion for five libraries and improvements to 18 branches. Dividing the original $387 million by 5 indicates a cost of about $77 million per library. Is it accurate? No. Is it in the ballpark? Yes.
Keep in mind that the LO plan also includes a community center.
Further, at this stage it’s not clear whether the City will need to acquire land.
Should a candidate believe the cost will be substantially less, by all means ask them for their rationale and their number.
One final point, the $77 million is based on 2020 dollars.
A Gemini AI estimate, which seems reasonable, is that construction costs are up about 30 to 35% since 2020. Using the lower number, that takes the cost to $100 million."
Construction costs have increased significantly since 2020.
Using a rough 30% increase would put $77 million
at approximately $100 million in today's dollars.
To be clear: $100 million is NOT a City estimate. It is not a prediction of what a Lake Oswego library might cost. It is simply a rough comparison that helps illustrate the scale of the investment we could potentially be discussing.
And Lake Oswego's potential project isn't just a library. The City is also considering a community center, and we don't yet know whether land acquisition would be required.
What about renovating our existing library?
The City has estimated that major improvements to the existing library—including seismic, ADA, water-intrusion, roof/building-envelope and other necessary work—would cost approximately $9.7–$10.5 million.
So, very roughly:
Renovate and improve the existing library: about $11 million
Build a new library/community center: potentially tens of millions more—and perhaps substantially more.
These are not apples-to-apples comparisons. A new facility would provide additional space, new amenities and potentially entirely different services. But taxpayers should understand the magnitude of the difference before deciding which path makes sense.
The approximately $11 million renovation figure is a published City estimate. The $77–$100 million figure is only a rough comparison—not a City estimate.
What We Don't Know Yet
And that's why we have questions.
1. Are Lake Oswego residents actually on board with moving the library?
There appears to be considerable community interest in having a great library and community center. But that's not necessarily the same as supporting moving the existing library across town and building a new facility. Those are two very different questions.
Before committing to a major capital project, shouldn't we understand what residents actually want—and what they are willing to pay for it?
2. What are residents willing to pay?
The City's survey asked residents what they would like to see in a future library.
People understandably said they want lots of things: more space, more programs, community gathering areas and other amenities.
But there is an important question we don't believe was asked: What are you willing to pay for those things?
A wish list is not a budget.
If residents want a $50 million, $75 million or $100 million facility, shouldn't taxpayers have an opportunity to understand the cost and prioritize what matters most?
We Have Been Here Before
Lake Oswego voters have some relevant history with library bonds. The last time voters were asked to approve a general-obligation bond to help finance a new library was 2012.
The proposed bond was for up to $14 million toward a new approximately 60,000-square-foot downtown library at First Street and B Avenue.
The total cost estimate of a large library and associated parking back in 2012 was around $35 million. The Bond put to voters was $14million with the remainder proposed to come from sources including:
Up to $18 million in urban-renewal funds
About $2 million in library capital funds
Donations
Proceeds from selling the existing library property
Other resources
So the $14 million bond was not the entire cost of the proposed library.
And what happened? The bond failed, 58% to 42%.
Interestingly, on that same ballot, Lake Oswego voters approved a $5 million bond for Boones Ferry Road improvements, 51.5% to 48.5%.
Voters in 2012 weren't rejecting every City bond proposal. They rejected the library bond.
That history doesn't tell us what today's voters would decide. But it does tell us something important: LO voters have not approved a library bond since 1974.
If the City eventually needs voter approval for significant borrowing, today's proposal will need to make a compelling case.
3. What Is the City's Financial Boundary?
We haven't seen a clearly established financial framework for the project.
What is a reasonable amount for Lake Oswego to spend on a new library?
$40 million? $60 million? $80 million? $100 million? More?
And what would that mean for other City priorities?
The City is emphasizing potential urban-renewal funding and partnerships, and no final project cost has been established.
That's why the work of the Future Library Task Force is so important.
The City says the Task Force will analyze community needs and prioritize what the building and site program should include before recommending a scope and location to City Council. Its anticipated work period is fall 2026 through fall 2027.
Let's get the needs right before we get the building designed.
4. Where Would the Money Come From?
There isn't currently money sitting in the City's General Fund to simply pay for a new library. A new facility could require some combination of:
Bond financing
Grants
Private donations
Urban-renewal funds
Partnerships
Potential contributions from other governmental entities
And if a general-obligation bond is needed, voters would ultimately have a say.
A project of this magnitude isn't simply a decision about what City Council wants to build. It is a decision about what Lake Oswego taxpayers are willing to invest.
5. Who Is Evaluating the Financial and Construction Implications?
Library professionals have tremendous expertise in libraries, programming and serving the community. But designing, financing and constructing a major public building requires additional expertise:
Capital-project management
Construction estimating
Financial forecasting
Market research
Project financing
Long-term operating costs
Life-cycle maintenance
Those professionals need to be part of the process.
And taxpayers need to see the numbers.
Of note, the City has spent real money on consultants to poll people about the future of the library "wants" but not linking "wants" to "costs".
6. What Happens to Our Existing Library While All of This Is Being Figured Out?
The existing library needs upgrades, maintenance and improvements. Yet some decisions about investing in the current building appear to be affected by the possibility that the library may eventually move.
But think about the timeline.
The City needs to determine the library's vision and needs.
It needs to determine the scope and cost.
It needs to identify funding.
If a bond is necessary, the bond would need to be developed and placed before voters.
If voters approve it, the City would then need to design and construct the facility.
That is years away.
In the meantime, Lake Oswego residents still have a library that needs to function well today.
Shouldn't we continue investing appropriately in the existing facility while we determine whether a new building is truly the best long-term solution?
Are We Getting the Cart Before the Horse?
The process should start with the community's needs—not with the assumption that the answer is a new building.
First: What library and community services do Lake Oswego residents need?
Then: How can we deliver those services most effectively and affordably?
Then: What facility—or combination of facilities—makes the most sense?
And finally: How much are Lake Oswego taxpayers willing to invest?
A new library may ultimately be the right answer.
But the City has described the potential Lake Grove Community Center & Library as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.” The concept envisions combining library services with community-center functions and potentially sharing space, parking and development costs with the Lake Oswego School District.
That makes it even more important to get the process right.
The City says the Future Library Task Force is being created to determine the community's needs and prioritize the building and site program before recommending a scope and location to Council. Excellent. That's exactly where we think the process should begin.
The City has already paid for market research
Specifically, three different pieces of research.
1. The 2023 Library Visioning Process
The City hired BerryDunn to conduct a library visioning/public-engagement process in 2022–23. The resulting report is:
The research included key-informant interviews, focus groups, a Social Pinpoint online survey, a Community Task Force, and other public input. The report is quite substantial and contains the actual findings—not just a summary.
2. The 2025 statistically significant Community Survey
This is a different survey. The City is now referring to the 2025 Community Survey in its Future Library Task Force materials. The City says that the 2023 visioning process and the 2025 statistically significant community survey both identified a need for flexible, accessible and multi-use spaces.
The City's survey asked residents what they would like to see in a future library, but not what they wanted to pay for.
3.The 2021 survey is another piece of the history
The City's 2022 RFP for the library engagement project says that in the 2021 Community Survey, residents who expressed an opinion ranked the following library priorities:
Library as a hub of community information/gathering
Events and services for children
Quality of the Lake Oswego Public Library facility
It also says 69% of residents surveyed who had an opinion were “very supportive” or “somewhat supportive” of expanding library amenities, services and facilities in the future. But again, that's 2021, not the 2023 visioning survey or 2025 survey. And none of the surveys linked "what you want" with "what will you pay for?"
We're back to this: What Are Residents Willing to Pay?
The surveys asked residents what they want—what services, amenities, spaces and facilities they would like to see. But they did not connect those choices to the question taxpayers ultimately have to answer: What are you willing to pay for it?
There is a big difference between saying, “Yes, I would like a larger library, more meeting rooms, a community center, children's spaces, performance space and other amenities,” and saying, “Yes, I want those things enough to pay $X million for them.”
The City's 2023 survey asked residents to rank possible approaches to improving library services, including remodeling the existing library, mobile services, expanding to the west side through a new building or leased storefront, increasing digital resources and expanding hours.
The 2025 City survey asked residents how much they thought various community-center amenities were needed.
Those are useful questions. But they are not the same as asking residents to make choices within a financial constraint. For example:
Would you support a new library/community center costing $40 million? $60 million? $80 million? $100 million?
And if the answer is no, what would you eliminate or reduce to bring the cost down?
That's how taxpayers actually make decisions about major public investments.
It is easy to say, “I want it.”
It is much more meaningful to ask, “I want it—and I am willing to pay $___ for it.”
Until the City connects what residents want with what they are willing to pay, we don't really know what the community supports.
Please Let's Not Build the Dream House Before Establishing the Budget
Who creates a wish list for their dream house, hires an architect and starts getting construction bids without first asking:
What is our budget?
What can we afford?
What do we really need?
We shouldn't do that with a library.
Lake Oswego has experienced what happens when we spend years developing a vision without a clear funding plan.
The 2002 George Rogers Park Master Plan is one example. After years of planning, consultant work and community input, there was no funding plan—and the plan was ultimately shelved.
As a former boss of mine used to have posted at eye level behind her desk:
“Failure is making a mistake and not learning from it.”
Let's learn from our past.
Before we spend years planning, fundraising and potentially asking voters to approve a very large bond, let's establish the needs, understand the alternatives, know the numbers, and ask people what they're willing to pay for and trade-offs they want to make.
A great library isn't defined by how much we spend on the building.
It's defined by how well it serves our community.
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