Revamped design plan shrinks Saskatoon's new central library to stay on budget

The plan for Saskatoon's new central library has been given a makeover, shrinkingthe design to keep the building on budget.

Construction has already started on the Saskatoon Public Library's new downtown central branch, but budget concerns forced a revamp of the $134-million project to prevent cost overruns.The four-level library is being built on Second Avenue between 24th Street and 25th Street.

On Wednesday, the library released a project update with the new plan and renderings.The redesign includes structural and cosmetic changes, and shrinks the library by roughly 1,000 square metres to about 11,600 square metres.

The downsizing was done by removing some office space and reallocating other spaces. The library says the exterior design was also simplified without losing any character.The exterior is inspired by teepee designs and will have transparent, translucent and opaque glass panels.

The inside of the library will have an exposed wood structure, although that has been reduced in some areas in the redesign. The new plan also removes a staircase connecting the third and fourth floors in the adult collection.

Other changes include swapping out materials using metal cladding instead of limestone on some of the exterior andscaling back other aspects. For example, the library will now use double-pane windows instead of triple-pane.

The library expects to open the new branch in summer 2027 and has renegotiated the sales agreement for the Frances Morrison Library to keepoperating there until spring 2027.

The library expects to release another update in 2025 once all construction tenders are awarded. To date, 60 per cent of construction tendering is done, with all coming in at or below budget, according to the project update.