Expansion for the La Mesa Civic Center has been one step forward, two steps back for more than two decades.

However, the city will be taking yet another step forward with a brand new City Hall and a resolution to expand the La Mesa Library.  

According to an August Space Needs Analysis, the city expects to break ground on a brand-new city hall in spring 2029, with an anticipated opening date of spring 2031. The analysis concluded that the current facility, built in 1958, does not support the growing city staff and modern standards.

Four city departments are currently operating outside the single-story building, working from two nearby trailers.

The library has been operating out of a “temporary” space since 2008, when the city tore down the old, smaller library to build a new police station that is still in use today.

In addition to a new two-story City Hall, the analysis also blueprinted a parking structure, residential apartments and an expansion of the library into the post office.

‘Delays’ are not part of the equation

City Manager Greg Humora has become an expert on the 25-year history of Civic Center redevelopment, and says “delays” are not part of the equation.

“It’s been going on for quite some time, and I’m happy to tell the story,” Humora said. “I know people get very passionate and concerned, and it’s never fast enough. It’s never fast enough for me, either. But there are steps that we have to go through. Not everything is under our control. And we’re trying to make do as fast as we can, and the city council has been super supportive.”

Discussions on Civic Center facility limitations began in 2000, as outlined by a March 2000 master plan, when the city began to evaluate space usage of abandoned buildings.

In 2004, Proposition D was passed in La Mesa, which provided a $25 million bond to upgrade the fire and police departments – a massive overhaul.

A temporary fire station was built in the abandoned Helix Water District while a new station, administrative building and Emergency Operations Center were constructed over the old fire department site. A new, temporary library was built nearby while the old, smaller library was demolished and the new police department was built over it.

Due to state requirements, slow contracts, state/county funding issues and developer partner lawsuits, the affordable housing apartment building atop the old police site just opened for residents this past July — a full 15 years after the new police department opened. 

Getting around to the city hall and library needs

While new facilities for the fire and police departments were completed in 2006 and 2010, respectively, expansions and redevelopments for City Hall and the La Mesa Library are just now getting underway.

“So, it took us quite some time to get back settled on our feet, where we’re able to get back working on the Civic Center, this part of it,” Humora said. “And so now we’re on the next phase, since all that other stuff is done and taken care of.”

City Hall redevelopment is still in the planning phase, with a projected cost of $35.7 million and proposals to add more conference rooms, meeting rooms, bathrooms, storage and office space. 

The current plan also includes the relocation of the post office to a smaller, attached space, which would allow the library to expand into the post office space currently attached to their building. 

This proposed relocation comes after the city council approved the library’s expansion into the post office in 2023, the cheapest of three redevelopment outlines presented by the Library Task Force. However, the post office has not yet agreed to move, and expansions for the library cannot begin until City Hall construction has been completed.

As a result, the La Mesa Library community is passionate about the subject, yet grateful fo the city’s transparency. 

“I appreciate [the city’s] willingness to listen and to consider the idea of a larger library,” said Sheila Dowe, a volunteer at the Friends of La Mesa Library Bookstore.

“And I would love for the library to be renovated at the same time, like concurrently. Because, as it stands now, the library will wait until the Civic Center. I didn’t know how old the Civic Center is, but it would be great if we could have the library a little bit sooner.”

As approved by the La Mesa City Council in 2021, a Library Task Force was created to explore expansion options for the library.

The Task Force concluded in early 2022 and presented its Library Needs Analysis and Library Feasibility Study to the City Council, which outlined three potential options for expansion. 

In July 2023, the city council approved option number 2 to renovate the interior library space and expand into the attached post office, adding 6,395 square feet. At a price tag of nearly $5.9 million, this was the cheapest option compared to vertical expansion or the construction of a brand new library facility. 

La Mesa Library gets solid traffic

Given that the La Mesa Library is the fourth most visited library in San Diego County, some patrons are unhappy with the council’s decision.

However, Humora says that going back on the decision is unlikely, unless the post office refuses relocation and the city council changes its mind.

“Given the statistics we just heard that this is one of the most used libraries in the whole county system, why do we have to live with a second-hand kind of building and convert it to be a library?” Jack Shu asked at a Friends of the La Mesa Library community meeting.

“I want a library that looks like a library, with buildings and structures that are designed in that fashion, because that’s how libraries really work. Not making a multi-purpose building converted into a library-type space, which architecturally just doesn’t work very well.”

The La Mesa Library hosts many accessible community events, from daytime concerts to crafting, but does not currently have any study spaces, community rooms or multipurpose rooms.

“The La Mesa Library is consistently standing room only for events, and many programs ‘book out’ within an hour of registration opening due to lack of space,” said Leslie Stump, co-chair of publicity and promotions for the Friends of La Mesa Library. “Some programs and community partnerships have had to be turned away or postponed simply because the current facility cannot accommodate them.”

While volunteer Dowe would love a new library, she hopes that any expansion will bring these much-needed spaces. 

“I would love to get a bigger area for the bookstore,” she said. “All the money we bring in goes to the library, so the more we can make, the more we can donate. So, I’d love a bigger space for that. For the unhoused, [it would] be nice to have a couple of long tables where people could sit, maybe play games.”

Beyond space maximization and usefulness, the community generally wants to see the library continue to be an inviting and creative third space.

The same goes for City Hall. Humora says it will be.

“If you look at this current City Hall, I believe it’s a mid-century modern architectural style. It’s kind of like a house… So it’s low, one story, tall roofs, but it’s inviting. It has a nice door in the front. The lobbies are a really good space,” Humora said.

“And we wanted the public to feel invited, still. We still wanted it to feel like a home. No one wants to come to city hall, but if you have to come to city Hall, we want it to be an inviting place where people can conduct business, feel comfortable, and then the employees have a nice space, too.”

Help needed to get projects paper and into the ground

To get the City Hall and library redevelopment projects off paper and on the ground, Humora said he needs everyone’s help. 

“So far, we’ve gotten everyone’s help by passing Proposition D back in 2004,” he said. “The community was a big help by passing Proposition L renewal in November, that passed by 81%. That’s our three-quarter-cent sales tax that keeps our funding stable, so we’re able to proceed and move forward with projects like this.”

However, there are still a lot of unknowns, as the city looks to potentially expand the parking district and increase meter rates to offset project costs, and building affordable housing on the Civic Center site. Nothing has been set in stone yet.

“Those are puzzles we need to figure out still,” Humora said. “But again, we’re lucky. We have land. None of the existing library parking would be impacted during that construction. They’ve got Allison Avenue open, there’s parking next to the library, none of that would be touched … There’s ways to maneuver the puzzle around.”

To stay updated on the progress of the Civic Center redevelopment, Humora recommends checking the city’s website and signing up for their biweekly newsletter.