Photo by ElvertBarnes

An Urban Land Institute panel that was charged with figuring out what do with the District’s aging Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library released its final report yesterday, and it says much the same as what it hinted late last year—the city should consider shrinking the central library and adding new tenants to the iconic downtown building.

The nine-person panel considered a number of options, from moving the library to leaving it exactly as is, and decided that splitting the difference might be the best option. At 440,000 square feet, the building is simply too large for what library officials say they need, and the upkeep alone would be prohibitively expensive for city. Moving it wouldn’t make much sense either, since finding affordable land downtown would produce its own distinct challenges. Given the size, flexibility and location of the building, bringing in a second tenant would make the most sense, said the panel in its final report:

The panel strongly believes that if [architect] Mies [van der Rohe] were alive today he would approve of such changes. This option is financially the most viable because rental revenues could fund the renovation of the existing structure, achieving the long-term goals of the library. The DCPL has determined that without administration and other centralized services, the new downtown central library will require approximately 225,000 gross square feet, substantially less than it currently occupies.

The additional benefits of shared tenancy is that the rent alone would bring in some $4.1 million to $5.5 million a year, which could be put towards much-needed upgrades for the building. Additionally, Mies made the building expandable, thus allowing the addition of two more floors to fit new tenants.

Whatever is decided, though, the panel urges the city to move quickly. “A sense of urgency is important in every aspect of implementation. Not uncommonly, the implementation of big ideas becomes mired in jurisdictional processes, special interests, and unforeseen circumstances,” says the report.

D.C. Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper and Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), who chairs the D.C. Council committee that deals with the city’s libraries, have said that they like the idea of shared tenancy. How quickly they can move it, though, remains to be seen.

Urban Land Institute Martin Luther King Jr. Library Building Final Report