About: 

On June 23^rd 2020 the Santa Cruz City Council directed staff to initiate a public process to consider reuse options for that site to include housing, a town commons, and/or other public uses. Following construction of the new library building on lot 4, the existing library site & adjacent parking lots will become an opportunity site for re-development.

The current library is located in an area with multiple civic facilities: City hall and the Civic Auditorium are located across the street (see below). The goal of the Downtown Library Site Re-Use Visioning Process is to develop recommendations for future use of the site indicated below in blue and green.

Community Engagement:

Please visit the engagement page for more information, recaps, and recordings of past meetings.

Consultant Team:

Group 4 Architecture, Research + Planning, Inc., (Group 4) is a full service architecture firm dedicated to creating vibrant public places that cultivate dynamic communities. For more than four decades, our inspired and talented staff has provided quality services to public clients and the cities, counties, and districts they serve. Our distinctly inclusive design process engages diverse public, staff, and stakeholder groups in shaping the future of their communities.

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit educational and technical assistance organization with an international reputation for its success in co-creating public spaces with communities. Since its founding in 1975, the organization has grown from a small group of dedicated out-of-the-box thinkers studying how people use public space, to the leader of a global movement for placemaking that continues to change places and lives around the world. With an interdisciplinary team comprised of around 30 people, we have directly helped more than 3,500 communities in 52 countries to create dynamic places that serve as the
foundation for our society’s health, resilience, and so much more.