Maplewood Memorial Library

Owner: Maplewood Memorial Library Foundation | Services: Cost Estimating

The Maplewood Memorial Library in Maplewood, New Jersey, first opened in 1956. Since then, the library has outgrown its 24,000-square-foot space. In response, the Maplewood Memorial Library Foundation launched the “Library for the 21st Century” campaign to secure funding and find an architect to realize its vision. After reviewing over two dozen proposals, Sage and Coombe Architects was chosen to design the new facility.

The architects faced several design challenges, including doubling the library’s size on its historic masonry footprint, addressing accessibility issues, and achieving sustainable design for an all-electric building with LEED certification. The approved design expanded the library to two stories, increasing its size to 32,000 square feet. The basement-level community room was relocated to the ground level for better accessibility, and solar panels were installed on the roof to supply 59% of the library’s electrical needs.

Axias prepared cost estimates during the schematic, design development, and construction document stages of the design . Axias’ final cost estimate was $16,849,098, with the awarded contractor bid coming in at $16,780,000, a variance of only -0.41%.