By LYMAN KIRKLAND
Lyman@newsroom.byu.edu
The renovation of the old Brigham Young Academy building is on schedule and will open as the Provo City Library at Academy Square in the spring of 2001, said Douglas Smoot, chairman of the Brigham Young Academy Foundation and BYU professor.
On Feb. 4, 1997, Provo voters approved a $16.8 million bond to provide funding for the new library. The Brigham Young Academy Foundation raised an additional $5.4 million to help with renovation costs, according to the Provo library Web site, www.provo.lib.ut.us/academy.
The project is very close to the proposed budget, and there are no substantial problems, Smoot said.
The underground parking lot is nearly complete, he said. Although the actual renovation is a little behind schedule, Jacobsen Construction plans to finish the project by the completion date, March 9, 2001.
The Academy building was constructed in 1892 as an addition to the Brigham Young Academy, founded in 1875 by Brigham Young.
After upper campus was developed, the old academy building was used mainly for art classes. Students who had classes in the building had 20 minutes between classes to walk from upper campus to lower campus, Smoot said.
The Academy Building, along with three other buildings on Academy Square, was used by BYU until 1975 when it was sold, he said.
The buildings fell victim to vandals and weathering after being sold.
Smoot said the Brigham Young Academy Foundation was founded for the sole purpose of saving Academy Square.
Although three of the four buildings on Academy Square had to be torn down, the Academy building was chosen as a new home for Provo's city library.
'That building will be the only remnant of the original roots of BYU,' Smoot said, 'It maintains the history.'
Many great men such as Karl G. Maeser, Senator and Apostle Reed Smoot and Abraham O. Smoot all worked to establish the BY Academy at Academy Square, Douglas Smoot said.
A plaque written by Douglas Smoot explaining the history of the square will be prominently displayed inside the new library. Historic memorabilia will also be displayed in the building to honor the founders of BYU and the history of the building. In addition, a statue of Brigham Young will stand outside of the building, he said.
The building's exterior will maintain its original appearance, but the interior will be distinguished by new construction, except for key historical elements. High costs prevent restoring the interior to its original state, according to the Web site.
The east side of the building will feature a new addition. With parking underground and above ground, the library will have approximately 340 parking stalls, according to the Web site.
The underground parking is nearly completed and construction workers are beginning the footings on the east addition, Alan DeWitt, Provo City physicality's services director, said.
Jacobsen Construction is the general contractor doing the construction work on the new library. Jacobsen has been involved in other notable projects, including the Monticello, Utah and Billings, Mont. Temples, the LDS Church Assembly Building, the addition to BYU's Lee Library, the Utah Winter Sports Park in Park City.