The HADC is very proud to have initiated the nomination process for Hartford's latest public project achievement.  Our businesses, citizens and local government pulled together to provide the community with a tremendous asset.  If you haven't yet been there yet, check it out for additional meeting spaces and resource options.

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Winners revealed for Real Estate Awards

Any server room is going to get hot. But the new Jack Russell Memorial Library in Hartford is pulling that waste heat over water coils to help warm the rest of the building, rather than dumping expensive air conditioning into the room.

That is one reason among many why the library's utility bills have held steady since moving into the new facility, which is more than twice the size of the old one.

"The whole building was designed to work together as a machine," said lead architect Mike Bahr of Plunkett Raysich Architects in Milwaukee. "It's amazing what you can do when you reframe the way you solve a problem."

Placement of windows and eaves helps to "grab heat from the south side of the building and move it to the north side." In addition to heating, the radiant floor system also is used to cool the building, which Bahr said may be a first in Wisconsin.

Installing 52,000 linear feet of floor tubing and enormous basement water tanks was a challenge, said Dan Wargolet, project manager for general contractor J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc. The project was a learning experience, he said, but if the energy savings continue, "I would expect to see a lot more of this construction in the future."

In addition to being a showcase for new conservation techniques, the library provides another anchor for downtown Hartford. Built near the city's mill pond, the materials and angles evoke mills of the kind that used to line the Rubicon River.

"We designed a place that people would want to spend time in," said library director Michael Gelhausen. "It's the community's living room."

A downtown library fit the city's overall plan, said city manager Gary Koppelberger. Having all government offices within a few blocks "keeps business downtown and keeps a lot of activity downtown," he said, and encourages residential development.

Although the library has a new building, it does not have an expanded budget. The board hopes for more funding in the future; for now, volunteers provide the equivalent of three full-time workers, Gelhausen said, and the library has invested in an automated system to sort returned books. Circulation has risen 40 percent since the building opened in November.

Even in the Internet era, a public library is a necessity, Gelhausen said, noting it offers access to information at no charge to the public, which no electronic device can match, and usage rises in a poor economy.

"A library is an investment in the entire community," he said.

The library's move from the third floor of City Hall ends a 30-year quest for a permanent home. A fundraising drive provided $2.3 million of the total $10.2 million cost, and exceeded its goal during the worst of the recession.

The city contributed $5 million, using a 20-year bond issue.

"Citizens came forward and filled the gap," Koppelberger said. "There were more donations than I ever could have expected in this economy. That's Hartford, though."

- David Lewellen