Bids Sought For New Airway Heights Library

The Spokane County Library District is requesting bids for a new library at Airway Heights.

The bid ceiling is $475,000 for construction costs, said Mike Wirt, county library director.

Bids will be accepted until 3 p.m. March 19. The library board will award the contract for construction of the new library at its regular meeting the following day.

The 4,000-square-foot library will replace a 700-square foot facility, which is “half the size of a house,” Wirt said.

The old library at 213 S. Lundstrum will be torn down to make room for the new building.

Funds for the project were made possible when voters approved a $7.66 million Spokane County Library District bond in February 1996.

Wirt said construction is expected to begin about April 1 and finish about Oct. 1. The completed library will open in November after new shelving is installed and new furniture moved in, Wirt said.

In the meantime, the Airway Heights library will remain open, housed in a trailer adjacent to the construction site. A week ago the library’s collection was moved into the trailer, Wirt said.

“We don’t know how many bids to expect,” Wirt said. “It’s usually a crap shoot. So far 10 sets of plans have been picked up.”

The new library will house 14,000 books, videos and magazines - double the current number of items, said Lyn Dedas, the library district’s assistant director.

, DataTimes