Maricopa County's New Library and Nature Center Feature Combined Services to Users, Sustainable Construction

Phoenix - Northwest Valley residents and outdoor enthusiasts at White Tank Mountain Regional Park have seen a unique facility starting to take shape in recent weeks. Arizona’s first-of-its-kind combined public library and nature center is “going vertical” at 20304 W. White Tank Mountain Road, located in Waddell. Mortenson Construction, along with DWL Architects and Ameresco Solar, will complete the 29,000-square-foot library and nature center this fall.

Among its distinct features is the joint use of space and offering of amenities provided by both the Maricopa County Library District and the Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department. “The White Tank Branch Library and Nature Center will provide an exceptional opportunity for school children, library patrons and park users,” states Maricopa County Library District director, Harry R. Courtright. “In addition to the usual public computers, electronic and print resources, study areas and Wi-Fi Internet access, the library and nature center also will serve as an educational gateway to the vast wildlife area that surrounds the facility.”

Some of the structural milestones for the shared facility this month include:

• Installation of concrete foundations and slab on grade have been completed.
• Turn lane modifications from the main road into the new project site are complete.
• Forming and placing of the concrete tilt panels has begun.

Combining county services not only creates efficiencies for the county – it will make for enhanced and varied services to customers. The 3,200-square-foot nature center will offer a “critter exhibit” that houses area wildlife, public meeting rooms that open directly into the park, numerous educational displays and programs that support both park and library use. A coffee shop also is planned to provide a relaxing, social venue for patrons.

DWL Architects and Mortenson Construction are integrating various environmental sustainability features into the facility’s design and construction, and are pursuing Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the project. The LEED® system encourages and accelerates the adoption of sustainable green building and development practices.

“Green features are key to this facility, which is particularly appropriate due to our focus on the desert habitat in this unique area of the county, says Library District Branch Development Coordinator Jim Govern. “Conserving energy – and even creating our own – will be a way of doing business here.”

The White Tank Library will incorporate the following green features:

• Heat-reflective parking lots made of decomposed granite to reduce runoff and minimize heat
• High-efficiency, motion-sensor interior lighting
• Design that minimizes sunlight-generated heat from entering the building, while still allowing for natural light
• Low-flow plumbing fixtures and on-site waste water treatment
• Native desert landscaping
• Rooftop solar collectors that will provide energy for the building, as well as preventing almost 90,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually

“As the facility’s builder, we are particularly proud to be minimizing the amount of disturbance to the natural environment,” states Lisa Barria, project manager of the design phase for Mortenson. “More than 130 native plants and cacti have been salvaged to be utilized as landscaping around the building in order to maintain the natural look and feel of the desert environment. This will also significantly decrease the amount of irrigation required for future maintenance. The amount of disturbance to bring the infrastructure, such as water and sewer to the site was minimized by tying into an existing water well and building a septic system for the sewer.”

Additionally, the county will purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), in order to provide a total of 35 percent – combined with the solar panels – of the estimated annual power consumption from renewable sources.