Fontana has broken ground on a large new library that, city officials and library boosters say, could become a building block of downtown revitalization.

At 93,000 square feet, the Fontana Library and Resource/Technology Center will be more than four times the size of any existing facility in the San Bernardino County-run library system. Project planners envision the library as a lively place with extensive educational, employment training and cultural offerings. The Fontana library will be a destination, said Patricia Laudisio, a former San Bernardino County library facilities manager who is coordinating the county’s role in the Fontana facility’s development.

The library site is adjacent to an outdoor amphitheater and a 1937 art deco movie theater that the city’s redevelopment agency is refurbishing for use as a dinner theater.

“What the city is really creating is a civic center for cultural events,” Laudisio said.

Fontana is hardly known as a center of culture and literature. The hometown of author Mike Davis, Fontana is better known as the home of Kaiser’s huge — but now closed — steel mills. During the 1990s, part of the old Kaiser plant was redeveloped as California Speedway, which attracts tens of thousands of auto racing fans several times a year.

Until recently, Fontana’s downtown was a forgotten land. Route 66, which traversed the core of numerous Southern California cities, bypassed downtown Fontana. Later, Interstate 10 drew the focus even further from downtown while the city became a major player in the shipping and warehousing industry. Recent city councils, however, have decided to reverse the trend and bring downtown back to life. The library is a key part of the downtown redevelopment strategy.

City and county officials began planning for a new library during the late 1990s. The existing library was built in 1964, when Fontana’s population was about 20,000. Today, the city has eight times as many residents and continues to grow by 6,000 to 8,000 people annually.

“The library that we have is just absolutely inadequate to meet the needs of the community,” said Ray Bragg, the city’s redevelopment and special projects director.

The city submitted applications for $20 million in funding from the 2000 state library bond but was turned down twice. In 2004, the city reduced its request, and the state approved a $14.9 million grant, which will provide one-third of the Fontana project’s funding. The city has committed $13 million in redevelopment funds and $2 million in development impact fees to the $45 million project. The final $15.1 million is supposed to come from private contributions, including money from a lawsuit settlement. The city will build, own and maintain the facility, while the county will operate it.

Because the state twice rejected the city’s application, officials had a great deal of time to consider the community’s needs, Bragg said. By the time the state awarded funding, the city and county knew what resources and services a new library should offer. Plus, architectural drawings were 90% complete, Bragg noted.

“We really paid attention to what the community expected to see,” Laudisio said. “One of their major requests was more computers. We will have about 205 public use computers.” About 25 of those computers will be Spanish language. The library also will have ports for laptop computers and wireless Internet service.

The new facility will have a 330-seat auditorium for library events and city functions. Additionally, the library will have a family learning center that features a computer center, literacy programs, a career center and resources for children doing homework. Another 2,000 square feet will be dedicated to children ages 5 and younger.

The facility has been designed with many “inviting people spaces,” Laudisio noted. “The two things that really draw people into libraries are that the staff is friendly and cheerful, and that the facility is comfortable and warm,” she said.

RNL Design of Los Angeles has based its plans on the mission style, but with modern updates. The main entrance will be via a plaza with a fountain and clock tower. At the other end of the building will be a large rotunda that overlooks Sierra Avenue, downtown Fontana’s main drag. Parking will be subterranean.

The library is just south of city hall, adding to a civic center that demonstrates the city’s commitment to downtown, Bragg said. Besides the library, the city is developing a historic plaza. A bungalow from 1910 was moved onto the plaza and the building now serves as a historical society research library. The plaza also features a new memorial rose garden and a relocated stone chapel. Nearby is an old freight depot that is being renovated for use as a coffee bar and art studio.

Besides putting money into the library and theater projects, the redevelopment agency also is implementing a façade improvement program along Sierra Avenue. The agency recently secured a façade easement for all buildings along one block. Later this year, the city plans to replace the existing mish-mash of building fronts with architecturally consistent facades, Bragg said. In coming years, the city plans to extend the façade program to at least three more blocks.

“We’re trying to make a visual change in downtown, which, hopefully, means people will stop and shop,” Bragg said. It also should mean that people will invest in downtown businesses, he added.

“Our ideas are not grandiose and out of scale. We know that Trader Joe’s is never going to come downtown. We know that PF Chang’s is not going to come downtown. We got over it,” Bragg said. Instead, the city would like to see locally owned, small businesses opening downtown. The aesthetic improvements and the new centers of activity are all part of the plan, he said.

The city broke ground on the new library in November 2005. A grand opening is scheduled for early 2008.

Contacts:
Ray Bragg, City of Fontana, (909) 350-7697.
Patricia Laudisio, San Bernardino County Library, (909) 350-6588.
Project website: http://www.fontanalibrary.org