Soon, users of the Columbus Metropolitan Library's Main Library will be able to look up from their books and enjoy the shrubbery representations of people, dogs and even a monkey and cat strolling through the Island of La Grande Jatte.

Soon, users of the Columbus Metropolitan Library�s Main Library will be able to look up from their books and enjoy the shrubbery representations of people, dogs and even a monkey and cat strolling through the Island of La Grande Jatte.

�The goal is to bring the library into the Topiary Park and the Topiary Park into the library,� said Brian Pawlowski, a project architect with Schooley Caldwell Associates.

The renovation of the main branch is scheduled to start in February, be completed by the summer of 2016 and cost an estimated $30.4 million, according to library officials.

The rear � or east � facade of the historic building will be replaced with glass, and there will be an outdoor deck.

A fence and surface parking lot between the library and the Topiary Park will be removed and the area landscaped, creating a seamless view to the sculpted shrubs that are a living representation of painter Georges Seurat�s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

Columbus-based Schooley Caldwell is designing the library�s renovations with the Gund Partnership of Cambridge, Mass.

�Libraries have changed,� said David Zenk of Gund. �Before, it was all about the collection; now libraries are full participants in their communities, and this will be a place where that happens."

Originally called the Carnegie Library, the marble and granite building opened in 1907. It underwent a major expansion in 1991.

�We wanted to make it look contemporary but were sensitive to its history,� Pawlowski said of the planned expansion. �The simple design of the glass and its transparency will be in contrast to the details of the Carnegie Library and make them stand out even more.�

Turner Construction is the construction manager for the project.

The city�s Downtown Commission approved the design at its most recent meeting.

�You�ve done a terrific job,� said commission member Otto Beatty Jr. �It�s similar to the renovation of the main library at Ohio State, where they brought all that light into the library and opened it up.�

That isn�t a coincidence.

�We also did the OSU library,� Zenk said of the renovation of Thompson Library. �A big part of our practice is educational buildings and libraries.�

Downtown activity

The recent meeting of the Downtown Commission was packed with other project presentations as well, as the city continues to evolve and expand.

Members also reviewed and approved plans to upgrade the landscaping of the Columbus Museum of Art, the construction of a large storage unit that will border the growing Neighborhood Launch project; and the updated plans for the next phase of the Buggy Works in the Arena District.

�We (recently) needed to store some equipment Downtown and couldn�t find a place,� said Timothy Galvin of Brexton Construction. �There�s a big need for storage space Downtown.�

Brexton and partner Neighborhood Launch will build a 750-unit storage building at E. Long and N. Young streets that will be available to residents of the growing number of Neighborhood Launch apartments and condominiums nearby, as well as other area residents and businesses.

The lower level will be constructed of masonry and brick and include a small office in the front that will provide storage supplies. A climate-controlled storage section that can be used to store wine will be in the back of the first floor.

The commission also approved updated plans for Nationwide Realty Investors� East Buggyworks project at 400 W. Nationwide Blvd. on the western edge of the Arena District.

The new plans call for adding 25,000 square feet of office space to the project, bringing the total to 133,000 in two buildings.

The parking structure in one of the buildings has 102 spaces; additional spots are planned on a surface lot behind the buildings.

The reason for increasing the office space was a rise in demand for such space.

�This is one of the most active times for office space in the Arena District,� said Brian Ellis, president of Nationwide Realty. �There�s almost an unprecedented level of activity.�

Capitol Square Ltd., the commercial real-estate arm of The Dispatch Printing Company, publisher of The Dispatch, is Nationwide Realty�s partner in the Arena District and owns a

20 percent stake in the Buggyworks project.

Changes at Turner

Brian Mooney has been named general manager of the Columbus office of Turner Construction, one of the area�s largest builders. He comes from the company�s Cincinnati office, where he has been general manager since 2011.

Mooney replaces Kyle Rooney, who will remain at Turner�s Columbus office as vice president and general manager for central and southern Ohio.

swartenberg@dispatch.com

@stevewartenberg