The plan is preliminary, but the general idea for the new $20 million complex at the 11.2-acre Portola Valley Town Center is to start building the new library next April, finish it by mid-September, and finish the Town Hall and community hall, with activity rooms, a few months after that. A grand opening would likely be in mid 2008.
A unanimous Town Council gave the nod to the project on April 12, releasing the project manager and architects — after two years of refining the design with community input — to proceed according to their preliminary schedule.
The dismantling of the 1950s-era set of school buildings that served as a civic center for 30 years is set for August 1, by which time current residents — artists in studios, the art gallery and after-school and adult classes — are expected to have moved out.
The council and town staff have been arranging for temporary quarters for the classes in nearby locations until the new activity rooms are complete. The studios and the art gallery will not be replaced, though the library is likely to have areas suitable for the display of artwork.
Dismantling of the complex will include asbestos removal and building deconstruction — the careful harvesting of reusable materials such as beams. The schedule also includes construction of a second Portola Road entrance into the site at the corner near Christ Episcopal Church.
After the school buildings are gone, their footprints will be “hydro-seeded,” meaning the laying down of a slurry that includes water, grass seed and fertilizer to supercharge sprouting while protecting the seeds from erosion and hungry birds.
Before construction begins in earnest next spring, a temporary fence will be erected. Utilities will be put underground as construction gets under way for the playground and library.
Parallel track
As construction moves ahead, the project’s fundraising efforts will be moving, too. The town has $5.6 million in hand, including about $3 million from the budget reserve and $2.6 million in gifts. Donors in town have pledged another $2.45 million. That leaves about $12 million yet to be raised.
The major donor campaign, begun in April 2005, is likely to continue for another year, said Jocelyn Swisher, co-chair of the Portola Valley Community Fund. The immediate goal is to reach $10 million by the end of June, she said.
A public campaign for smaller donations is set to begin in the fall but residents Bill and Jean Lane are offering a challenge grant of $500,000 to match donations of $50,000 or more made between May 1 and June 30.
MEETING
• The end is near for the 1950s-era school buildings long used for artists’ studios, an art gallery and adult and after-school classes in Portola Valley’s Town Center. The complex will be taken apart and/or demolished this fall. The Town Council is holding a public hearing at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, when it will likely approve a formal notice requiring tenants to vacate the premises by August 1. The council meets in the Historic Schoolhouse at 765 Portola Road. The council is also set to discuss the idea of a dog park in town, a Stanford University proposal to improve the trail along Alpine Road, and a ski trip proposal from the town’s teen committee.
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