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<br />e <br /> <br />mixed use because of its proximity to the downtown core and could be expanded <br />if needed. <br /> <br />Mr. Lutes said the City would not have to purchase property for the new site <br />since the land is already in public ownership. The new site has better <br />vehicular access, would enhance the adjacent office and retail uses, and has <br />good parking access, although it would require more parking spaces than the <br />existing site. <br /> <br />Mr. Lutes said the following factors are some of the characteristics of the <br />existing site: removal of existing property tax rolls for parking; not as <br />close to the downtown core area; marginal for mixed use; inflexible for <br />expansion; requires asbestos removal; vehicular access is limited; adjacent <br />commercial uses would be eliminated because of parking area acquisition; the <br />public likes the site; marginal parking access. Mr. Lutes added vertical <br />expansion is not feasible at the existing site. He said libraries require <br />floors that can support 125 pounds per square foot while offices generally <br />need 50 pounds per square foot. <br /> <br />Mr. Miller said it is his understanding that the floors in The Bon and Sears <br />buildings could be strengthened to meet a library's requirements. He asked <br />if those buildings would match the benefits of the new site if their <br />construction was strengthened. <br /> <br />Mr. Lutes said the benefits would be approximately the same in terms of <br />location. He said he is uncertain about how easily a department store could <br />be converted to a library. He said the council also needs to consider the <br />~ functional impact on staff in a reinforced, existing building. <br /> <br />Mr. Miller said it would be beneficial to have the comparison of The Bon and <br />Sears buildings in light of the $23 million project. He said he would also <br />like information from staff on building reinforcing costs. <br /> <br />Mr. Gleason said studying the structure of buildings such as Sears, The Bon, <br />and Lincoln School requires an architectural analysis. He said the study is <br />not a simple matter of adding loading capacity to the floor. He said floor <br />redesigns are likely to alter access and egress points, which impacts <br />exterior wall location. <br /> <br />Ms. Decker said staff can study The Bon and Sears buildings. Because some <br />portions of the existing library already do not have the bearing capacity of <br />125 pounds per square foot, Ms. Decker said staff has assumed that council <br />does not want to look at other buildings that also lack the proper bearing <br />capacity. <br /> <br />In response to a question from Mr. Holmer, she said staff does not know for <br />certain the floor strengths of Th@ Bon and Sears buildings. However, she <br />said she fairly sure the buildings were not built to meet library stack <br />standards. <br /> <br />Mr. Rutan said the council should not be conducting extensive analysis of The <br />Bon and Sears since they are currently occupied. He said the council needs <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council <br /> <br />April 27, 1988 <br /> <br />Page 8 <br />