Roseland library, fire project moving forward in southwest Santa Rosa

A much-anticipated hub in southwest Santa Rosa that will provide a permanent home for the Roseland library and other community amenities is one step closer to being built.

Santa Rosa is gearing up to issue a request for proposals for a contractor to build the civic complex, known as the Hearn Community Hub, on Hearn and Dutton avenues, one of the final major steps before construction starts and site work is expected to begin next year.

In addition to the library, the city is planning to relocate Fire Station #8, currently on Burbank Avenue and Sebastopol Road, to the site. A community center that could house city services, youth programs and even a makerspace is also planned.

The project represents an effort by the city to make long-promised public investments in Roseland, a predominantly Latino neighborhood folded into Santa Rosa city limits in 2017, and the surrounding neighborhoods.

The area is home to about 7,400 residents but scores of new housing projects are on the rise or planned.

Early cost estimates presented to the council in November 2021 put construction around $55 million but Assistant City Manager Jason Nutt said that estimate has likely changed. About $35.5 million in public funds have been allocated to the project so far.

While Nutt cautioned that the city is in the early stages of the project, more information regarding the design of the building, proposed uses and construction costs are expected in the spring.

“We expect this will progress very quickly in the next six months,” Nutt said. “It’s a very exciting project.”

City officials hope to move into the space by the end of 2026, he said.

Design driven by community

The Santa Rosa City Council announced last January it would purchase three parcels totaling 6 acres where Dutton Avenue ends at Hearn with sights set on converting the property into a community hub.

City and Sonoma County Library officials had been searching for a permanent home for the Roseland Regional Library, currently on Sebastopol Road, since it opened in the neighborhood in 2015.

Initial discussions called for locating it in an affordable housing development being built adjacent to the Roseland Village Shopping Center across the street from its current location.

There were also talks of building a library at Southwest Community Park on Hearn Avenue about a half-mile east from the future space.

Ultimately, the city chose the Hearn property which provided enough space to accommodate the library and collocate other city services at the site.

From August to November, the city held several community workshops, including hosting an open house at the property, stakeholder meetings and a resident survey to solicit feedback from residents on what other programs and services they wanted to see there.

Some of the ideas include:

• Resource center with city services offered.
• Computer lab.
• Dance and fitness studio.
• Cultural arts and maker space and a small business incubator space.
• Youth programming.
• Emergency or resiliency center.
• Physical and mental health care services.
• Child care or early education.
• Co-working space, flexible meetings rooms and classrooms.
• Commercial teaching kitchen.

The services would likely be located in one large building with a separate library wing. Library officials have previously said a 15,000- to 20,000-square-foot building could be needed to sufficiently accommodate the Roseland area.

Outdoors, residents favored having sports fields, a running and walking track and open space that can host farmers markets and other events.

Residents also said they would like to see a space to accommodate a car club or car shows.

One of the most popular ideas was to build an aquatics center, Nutt said. Though that could be expensive, he said the city intends to include it in the preliminary design.

City officials also plan to replace Fire Station #8 with a new station at the property, which is closer to Highway 101 and the growing residential neighborhoods around the area.

As part of the project, the city also plans to extend Dutton Avenue south to the end of the city property, north of Colgan Creek. It will not connect with Dutton Avenue where it picks back up at Duke Court, Nutt said.

The city also will work with private property owners to help connect the Colgan Creek bicycle and pedestrian path to the city parcel, he said.

The project has raised concerns among some residents that the new amenities could worsen congestion on Hearn Avenue, particularly at the Highway 101 interchange. The city is planning to expand that intersection and the highway crossing and the council recently allocated additional funds to the project.

City planning accelerated timeline

South San Francisco firm Group 4 Architects was hired to craft preliminary designs for the project.

The firm will take input collected from residents, meet with the various entities that will occupy the future facility and figure out “how we’re going to put together all those pieces into actual buildings,” Nutt said.

Typically, the city would then complete a full design before issuing a request for proposals for a contractor but the city is pursuing what’s called a design-build construction model where the work is bundled together in one contract to get the project off the ground more quickly, he said.

The expedited timeline is partly because of timing constraints attached to some of the funding allocated to the project.

The city has earmarked $20 million ― $10 million each from federal pandemic relief funds, which must be spent by 2026 and PG&E wildfire settlement money.

Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, secured $5 million each for the fire station and library in the state budget, and former Assemblymember Marc Levine allocated $1 million each.

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria also contributed $3.5 million to the library board for construction of the library.

City Hall administrators expect to award a construction contract by the end of the year and demolition of existing homes on the property, underground utility work and other site work is expected to start next year.

Building construction should start in 2025 and be completed by end of 2026.

“For a project of this size and scale, it’s certainly doable, but we have to move and that’s why we’re pushing this a little faster than we do most projects,” Nutt said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @paulinapineda22.