Lake Oswego's Library: Is the City Getting Ahead of the Community?
Blog Post By: Jim Perris, 39 year resident of Lake Oswego
Vice President of Old Town Neighborhood Association
For many good reasons there’s substantial concern about what’s happening with the Lake Oswego library. I’m serving on the Library Site Reuse Task Force. Additionally, I had the opportunity to meet with Mayor Joe Buck and Councilwoman Trudy Corrigan regarding the library. At the suggestion of a friend, I’m going to start this blog post with my conclusions. For those who want the details, read on!
Conclusions
It’s not economically sound to repair the existing library. I believe it’s a teardown.
The existing library was properly maintained.
An assessment for what amenities the next LO library will provide should be completed ASAP. Significant community input, well past that of the upcoming Future Library Task Force, is essential.
The City’s own survey found that 70% of people are either Very Satisfied or Satisfied with the library’s current location. The City wants a new library in the Lake Grove Urban Renewal District to access Tax Increment Financing. The district may already have as much as $30 to $40 million of borrowing capacity in the District.
The City is moving quickly and it’s not clear how much input citizens will have. To date the city has issued requests for proposals for:
An Owner’s Representative (one has been hired)
An Architect
A Commercial Real Estate Broker
It’s debatable whether the existing site can be reused for the next library. The City seems to be a hard no. Many in the community want it considered. My quick analysis indicates the location is too small. However, that is 100% dependent on what services the next library will offer.
The cost of a library cannot be determined until we know what services the library will offer. However, the City’s own analysis (Council Report dated July 7, 2023) showed a new facility costing as much as $99 million in 2023 dollars.
In speaking with Mayor Joe Buck, and councilwoman Trudy Corrigan, it appears that a bond will be necessary for a new library. This is positive, in that voters will have a say.
As a long time resident of Lake Oswego I want to make sure our next library is what we need and want as a community. The process is rocketing along, arguably too fast. Do we really want to spend $100+ million on a library? I doubt it, but am trying to keep an open mind.
This blog post covers a lot of territory. Transitioning to a new library has MANY moving parts. There are a number of groups with much to say about the library’s next iteration. Keep informed and don’t be shy about offering opinions.
For those who want more detail ...
The Existing Building and Maintenance
The existing building is not in good shape. It came on line in 1983 - 43 years ago. Has it been properly maintained? An excellent question that’s not easily answered. Including an $800,000+ investment made in 2017 to improve the first floor, major facility costs over the last 10 years has totalled about $2,500,000. This includes elevator repairs, HVAC, lighting, electrical, etc. Unfortunately the need for maintenance, especially related to moisture intrusion, is accelerating.
In 2024 the City commissioned a Seismic Evaluation & General Facilities Conditions and Assessment report by CIDA, an architecture and engineering design firm. The news wasn’t good. The conclusion, in 2024 dollars, was the cost to get the building up to a reasonable standard, ranged from $9.7 to $10.5 million. In 2026, the City’s Assistant Public Works Director, Shawn Kohn, explained to the Site Reuse task force that the noted expenditure would only get the building to an acceptable standard. In his words, a C+.
After walking the facility, reading the CIDA report (which is available on the City’s web site) I concluded that 1) the City made the correct call to stop investing in the existing facility past safety and ongoing operations, and 2) the existing library is a tear down. I will also say that I think the building was appropriately maintained.
While our community discusses the next iteration of the library, it doesn’t make sense to spend significant dollars to improve the existing building. And $9.7 to $10.5 million is a substantial contribution to whatever next step the City and community undertake with the library.
Before challenging any of the above, or if you are concerned about where our City is going with the library, I’d suggest taking a tour of the existing facility.
Public tours are available via:
The walk provides a meaningful sense of what we, as tax payors, are up against. I will say the room where storytime takes place tugged at my heart. I have two daughters in their 30s who were beneficiaries of the space.
Where Do We Go From Here?
I’m not thrilled with the City’s messaging and approach.
Forward direction for the library is noted in the City Council’s initiative “Develop a strategy for an expanded and modern library facility, prioritizing the West side of town and urban renewal funding options, allowing it to serve as an all-ages and all-activities community center.”
Subsequently to codifying this initiative the City created two task forces: The Site Reuse Task Force , and the Future Library Task Force.
Some plot building exposition related to the City’s initiative. The City has ETC Institute perform surveys of its citizens on a regular basis. These surveys provide insights into what’s important to residents, helps City leaders learn how they and their departments are perceived, etc. If you’ve reviewed any material related to the library, you keep coming across part of the survey results that state: Lake Oswego’s 2025 community survey results highlight the top priority spaces that residents feel are needed in a new facility, including:
Multi-purpose rooms for large meetings, classes, storytimes, and events (79%)
Indoor children’s play area designed for learning through play (79%)
Smaller rooms for meetings, workshops, or study groups (72%)
Makerspace with tools and technology to create, invent, and learn (70%)
Dedicated space for teens to socialize, study and connect (70%)
Auditorium spaces for speakers, events, concerts, and community performances (70%)
Community outdoor space that connects to a public building (70%)
These spaces are consistent with 21st century library design in the region and across the
nation.
The trouble with the above is that the survey questions deal with a community center, not a library. The City decided to tie them together. Nowhere were people asked if they wanted (or are willing to pay for) a new community center or library.
Another interesting take away from the survey (page 21 of the 2025 Report) is that 70% of residents rate ‘Proximity of Library Services to your home’ as either Very Satisfied (41%) or Satisfied (29%). There certainly isn’t a loud community voice asking to move the library to a different location.
The reason the City wants a new library in the Lake Grove Urban Renewal District (the west side of town) is access to urban renewal funding. Without going into the nuts and bolts of tax increment financing, the City more than likely has access to as much as $30 to $40 million of debt funding through the existing District. Add this to other available funds (e.g. some budget carry over from the existing library) and the City may be able to build a $40 to $50 million facility without needing to go to taxpayers. It’s worth noting that the point of Urban Development Districts is to promote development. Does a library really do this?
Key Thoughts
1. It was the right call to step back and look at the big picture before investing millions into the existing facility.
2. I do not think the existing facility can be effectively rebuilt, remodeled or improved at a reasonable number. However, this does not preclude building a new facility on the existing site designed to fulfill the community’s library needs. Can a properly designed footprint of about 30,000 square feet provide the amenities needed and prioritized by our community? It’s a wonderful question.
One resident of First Addition noted that a number of communities around the size of Lake Oswego have a library in this square footage range. I looked at population, library size, and age of libraries for Wilsonville, Tualatin, Sherwood and Redmond (also a community of about 40,000). The two closest fits are Wilsonville and Redmond.
Wilsonville (population about 28,000) was renovated in 2018; Redmond finished a new library in 2025. Both worked out to about 1 resident per square foot of library. Under this logic, Lake Oswego would need about a 40,000 square foot library, which won’t work on the existing site. Still, good design and a robust look at priorities provide some hope for the existing site.
3. The City needs to figure out what a modern Lake Oswego library should look like. After talking with people who know about such things, modern facilities serve many purposes. Perhaps not all of them are needed or wanted in our community.
I’m one of those people who only uses digital content. I seldom, if ever need a physical library. On the other hand, I truly want the next generation of parents to take their kids to storytime in a good facility that fits our community. And kids are some of the most voracious users of books (i.e. physical content).
4. Once a good, honest, and appropriate assessment is complete then it’s possible to
figure out what facility is needed. Frankly, given the amount of library construction that’s gone on recently (over $400 million covering about 18 libraries in Multnomah County (Measure 26-211) within the past couple years, a new library in Redmond (it came in under budget at $43 million in 2025 excluding land costs), a substantial remodel of the downtown Bend library (it’s presently closed, and is the final improvement under a $195 million Deschutes County Measure (9-139) to improve the county’s library system), etc), there’s no shortage of people and companies that have good insights into needs, costs, architectural design, etc.
5. As Councilor Trudy Corrigan pointed out, time is not our friend. Costs are escalating
quickly. Still, doing a good assessment of what services are necessary and wanted in
our community could be done in months.
6. Some reasonable calculations easily put the cost of an all-everything library in the $100 million range. This is a big ask from our community, especially after ~$370 million for a waste water treatment plant, and ~$21 million for a new fire station.
7. When Derrith Schmidt (Chair of the Old Town Neighborhood Association) and I met with Mayor Joe Buck and Councilwoman Trudy Corrigan, I was left with the impression that a bond will be necessary under any scenario. Hopefully this is the case, since it will give voters a chance to weigh in.
8. The City already hired an Owner’s Representative for the library. There are also now requests for proposals (“RFP”)’s for an Architect and a Commercial Real Estate Broker for land acquisition. Although I understand the sense of urgency based on inflation, this has the feel of a fait accompli. If the city hasn’t done a proper assessment of what services the library should offer, hopefully something the Future Library Task Force will spend substantial time on, how can an architect know what to design? From my perspective, it’s not clear that our community was ever asked what it wants in a library. Instead, the City’s survey asked about a community center. And NOWHERE were
people asked what they’re willing to pay for.
If you’d like to comment on this blog post, please respond to: info@OldTownLakeOswego.org
Other Old Town Neighborhood blog posts about the library:
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