Another example of co-located public facilities in Arlington County

Flickr image from Arlington Public Library

Arlington just had the dedication for a new combined library-elementary school. See "Official Launching of Dual Building" from the Connection Newspapers.

I believe that co-location makes a lot of sense, maximizing the use and utility of public assets.

It's something DC does not do.

From the article:

The new $22.5 million facility, which attaches a new community library building to a fully reconstructed elementary school on a key corner location along Washington Boulevard, won praise from speakers at the dedication ceremony in the center’s front plaza.

"We absolutely got the design right," said Sally Baird, chair of the School Board. "This is an outstanding building, and it will serve the community for generations and generations to come."

Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh highlighted the new library’s amenities, including 20 public access computer terminals (where the old library had fewer than a half dozen), 10,000 additional items in the collection, and a spacious layout — triple the size of the old building — filled with natural light flooding in from surrounding high windows. The public will also have access to two meeting rooms, and high-quality video projection available for multi-media presentations.

"We’ve created something synergistic and special, an expansion of the village core," Kresh said. She had particularly high regard for the structure’s placement close to the corner of its plot, directly across McKinley from the post office, and a stone’s throw from local businesses, street parking, and the street life of the Westover community along Washington Boulevard. Kresh predicted the building will create a social destination away from the responsibilities of work or home: a "third place," in New Urbanist parlance.

"I see it being a focal point for community life," she said. "The fact that it’s right here on the corner is going to make a huge difference." County Manager Ron Carlee agreed. "This is how you create smart growth in locations where you don’t have a subway stop right on top of you."

When you have limited resources, each dollar the government spends should be spent with an eye towards maximizing the simultaneous achievement of multiple objectives. Oftentimes, single use public facilities do not accomplish this.

- MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN ARLINGTON COUNTY AND ARLINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS REGARDING THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE REED SCHOOL AND THE WESTOVER LIBRARY