“The history of a place is found in the land, in structures – public, residential, commercial – and in designs imposed upon the land; but perhaps most of all it derives from the people who become a part of the land and give it a different and distinctive shape.”
Marvin Yeomans Whiting in Vestavia Hills, Alabama: A Place Apart
Our City
Lawyer and road builder, E.J. Smyer. Birmingham Mayor and conservationist, George Ward. Developer, Charles Byrd. Benefactors, Isadore and Hortense Pizitz. Throughout the young history of Vestavia Hills, time and again, the men and women who have re-shaped our community’s destiny, have shared three common principles: a commitment to education, a respect for the environment, and a dedication to the city’s quality of life. The fruition of their labor is a Vestavia Hills known for its award-winning schools, community-tailored businesses, as well as, its charming neighborhoods graced by dogwoods and azaleas.
The Vestavia Hills Public Library project embodies the essential elements of our city’s character: the opportunity to build Alabama’s first LEED *certified library, which will provide an environmentally healthy place to learn, work, and play. This project represents the most ambitious public/private partnership effort in the history of Vestavia Hills. Only through a dedicated willingness of today’s leaders can the vision of a new library and the legacy of our visionary founders be realized.
The Opportunity
In 2002, the Vestavia Hills Mayor and City Council developed a long range strategic plan in advance of our community’s projected population growth. Five essential goals powered the process:
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Maintain a quality residential environment
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Create an aesthetically pleasing community
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Provide quality public facilities and services
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Promote orderly growth
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Increase connectivity throughout the city
The strategic plan contains an in-depth review of all public facilities, identifying for repair or replacement, those buildings deemed below standard for a community the size and quality of Vestavia Hills. The city’s public library has been identified as one such inadequate public facility. Subsequent studies of the current building’s functionality confirm these findings and provide specific recommendations for constructing a new facility. The salient points from these studies are included as an addendum to this document.
To advance the goal of building a new library, the Mayor and City Council authorized a bold $4 million challenge grant to match private gifts dollar-for-dollar. That bold challenge initiates the present 12-month capital campaign.
Leading the campaign is a cabinet of advisors and investors comprised of dedicated corporate citizens, volunteers, and the library’s family of boards: the Library Board of Trustees, the Library Foundation, Friends of the Library, PALS (People Affecting Library Success) and ROCK (Reading Opportunities Challenging Kids). National Community Development Services of Atlanta has been retained as fund raising counsel.
The Cost
The new library will be located on nine wooded, rolling acres of the Wald Estate, located at the intersection of Round Hill Road and Highway 31. This beautiful setting runs adjacent to the Boulder Creek Nature Trail and affords unique outdoor learning experiences for visitors of all ages. Costs for constructing a new LEED library on this site are as follows:
Property/site prep |
$1,500,000 |
Construction . |
7,190,025 |
| Furnishings |
582,975 |
| Architect, Engineering, & Environmental |
482,000 |
Campaign Counsel |
240,000 |
| Fund Raising Expenses |
120,000 |
Contingency |
885,000 |
TOTAL |
$11,000,000 |
The Benefits
The pride of Vestavia Hills is its school system. The five elementary schools, one middle school, one alternative school, and one high school have a total enrollment of 4,500 students. The high school math and debate teams consistently win national competitions. The middle school has the highest S.A.T. scores in Alabama. A new Vestavia Hills Public Library will be a partner in the quality education of our children and provide a needed “safe space” for after-school study and play.
Beyond the benefit to our city’s children, a new library brings economic value. During the construction phase alone, approximately 117 jobs will be created and an additional $9.9 million added to the local economy. A full economic impact analysis follows this document.
Many services already are being provided by the present library, but a new building accommodates the projected population growth of the city while incorporating the latest patron-friendly features of modern libraries. A new library, located in the heart of our city, affords the following:
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a personal business laboratory for budding entrepreneurs
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a center for adult literacy programs
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an access point to government information and services
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public access to computing
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meeting spaces for community-based functions, youth gatherings, and club meetings
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outdoor programming for environmentally-concerned community partners such as Keep Vestavia Green, the Alabama Audubon Trail and Wildlife Society, as well as, local Scout troops.
The Call to Leadership
At the turn of the last century, visionary philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, addressed the need to educate Americans, to ensure our country’s place in the world. He saw the potential of the public library to help achieve that goal. Between 1881 and 1917, he invested the equivalent of $3 billion to build 1,689 libraries across the country.
Today, the public library continues to play a vital role in educating our nation’s future leaders while shaping the very social and economic character of our cities.
We ask you to join us in this historic opportunity to build a new library for the citizens of Vestavia Hills, a library it needs, deserves, and one which will be a source of city pride and benefit.
In years to come, as visitors to Vestavia Hills come to see Alabama’s first LEED certified library, they will encounter patrons, young and old alike, walking along a forest trail beside an attractive building which blends into the surrounding natural environment. Inside, they will see young entrepreneurs sitting at computer banks planning new businesses; children in a Treehouse Reading Room listening to a master storyteller. Visitors will sense that what they are seeing is not an impressive structure alone, but tangible evidence of the vision, faith, and high aspiration of an entire city.
* The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System® is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.
For more information, please contact:
Campaign for the New Vestavia Hills Library
1112 Montgomery Highway ■ Vestavia Hills, Alabama 35216