{"id":2656,"date":"2017-07-26T10:21:45","date_gmt":"2017-07-26T14:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/?p=2656"},"modified":"2019-04-05T15:52:08","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T19:52:08","slug":"pratt-central-library-undergoing-major-renovation-bringing-in-old-with-the-new","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/2017\/07\/26\/pratt-central-library-undergoing-major-renovation-bringing-in-old-with-the-new\/","title":{"rendered":"Pratt Central Library Undergoing Major Renovation, Bringing In Old With The New"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 25, 2017 5:01 PM<\/em>\u00a0By Ron Matz<\/span><\/p>\n

BALTIMORE (WJZ) \u2014 If you\u2019ve driven by the Pratt Central Library on Cathedral Street you\u2019ve probably noticed a lot of scaffolding outside. That\u2019s because the building is undergoing a major renovation.<\/p>\n

Ron Matz reports work crews are busy modernizing the library and at the same time discovering history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re re-creating the original artwork, the decoratively painted ceilings by just redrawing and re-painting over what they did 85 years ago, making it look like it did once before,\u201d says project manager John Durcan.<\/p>\n

The quiet of the Pratt Central Library has given way to the sound of construction. Now, the over 80-year-old building is getting a facelift.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a three and a half year renovation. We like to kind of describe it as bringing the building into the 21st century while preserving all the history inside the building,\u201d says Communications Director Megan McCorkell.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we\u2019ve got construction happening in every area of the building. Predominantly on the Second floor and third floor. Everything from soup to nuts: Mechanical systems, electrical Systems, every wall is open. Pretty much everything that can be done is being done,\u201d says John Richardson, Chief of Facilities Management.<\/p>\n

And the operation is a big one. There are 150 workers in every part of the building, decorative ceilings are being uncovered and re-painted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great project. It\u2019s kind of a jewel of the Enoch Pratt library system. I\u2019m excited to be a part of this,\u201d says Durcan.<\/p>\n

Another exciting part is the reimagining of a learning place for teens.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have fifteen times the amount of space the teens have now for a place to learn. We\u2019ve dedicated half of the second floor for a teen learning and leadership center. They\u2019ll have books, librarians, a creation center with technology, a studio for recording. It\u2019s a profound statement about the importance of teen learning in the city,\u201d says Sandra Vicchio, Consulting Architect Pratt Library.<\/p>\n

A half million people visit the Pratt Central Library every year, so it will stay open during this extensive renovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big thing is we\u2019re keeping the central library open, and keeping all of the services that people rely on during this entire three and a half year project,\u201d says McCorkell.<\/p>\n

The Pratt central library opened in 1933. The renovation project is scheduled to be complete sometime in 2019.<\/p>\n

Please see the following link to the original article.\u00a0http:\/\/baltimore.cbslocal.com\/2017\/07\/25\/pratt-central-library-renovation\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"The Maryland Department of General Services (DGS)\u00a0is managing the renovations to the 300,000 square foot, four-story library, which include significant upgrades to all building systems. With a construction budget of $86.5 million, the General Services design team moved forward in 2015 to develop drawings. Gilbane Construction was selected to provide construction management services for the duration of the project. It should be noted that the 30% Minority Business Enterprise participation goal was exceeded, representing significant economic development and jobs for small businesses<\/p>\n

DGS employee, Clarence Felder, is a Building Inspector for the Central Region of Construction. Clarence has been assigned to assist the acting Regional Manager, Jeff Foard, with taking the lead at the Enoch Pratt free Library Renovation. In doing so, he has lead the contract inspectors in understanding DGS Construction procedures and methods in construction management.<\/p>\n

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July 25, 2017 5:01 PM\u00a0By Ron Matz BALTIMORE (WJZ) \u2014 If you\u2019ve driven by the Pratt Central Library on Cathedral Street you\u2019ve probably noticed a lot of scaffolding outside. That\u2019s because the building is undergoing a major renovation. Ron Matz reports work crews are busy modernizing the library and at  …Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dgsinthenews"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2656"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2666,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2656\/revisions\/2666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}