Austin city officials and representatives from Lake|Flato Architects and Shepley Bulfinch architects took public comment on the new Central Library design plans as well as the Seaholm District public spaces Oct. 1 at a special called meeting of the Library Commission.

The design plans for both projects are about 60 percent complete.

"I think this is really impressive," said Howard Sharp, who attended the meeting. "You guys did a great job. I'm ready to start checking out books."

Planning for the new library started in the 1990s when city officials decided a new library was needed. Funding for the new library came from the 2006 bond election and is projected to cost a total of about $120 million. The library is being designed with the collaboration of Lake|Flato Architects and Shepley Bulfinch. According to Cynthia Jordan, project manager with the Austin Public Works Department, the library was the catalyst to a broader revitalization project for the area that includes Shoal Creek, Second Street, Cesar Chavez Street and West Avenue.

"It just sort of all evolved that we would all work together and really beautify this area of downtown," Jordan said.

Some of the construction for the Seaholm District will include redoing the banks of Shoal Creek, redesigning a portions of Second Street to make it a festival street without raised curbs and constructing a screen wall around the electrical substation off of West Avenue to obscure the station from view as well as turning the decommissioned Seaholm Power Plant into a residential and retail area.

The new Central Library will be a six-level structure with two levels of underground parking for about 200 vehicles. The design incorporates community gathering spaces along with quiet areas for reading and research. The library will be about 180,000 square feet and feature a 200-kilowatt solar panel array and extensive use of natural light.

Lake|Flato Project Manager Steve Raike said the design and facade of the library tries to incorporate the building's dual nature.

"We've really thought of this building as sort of having two characters," he said. "One that ties in to the recreation and the casual lifestyle that surrounds the creek and the lake. So that side is a little looser and a little more playful, but it's a very civic building that's got a real responsibility to hold the street edge, so it becomes a little more traditional."

Construction documents are expected to be completed by spring 2013 with construction beginning in fall 2013. A grand opening celebration is expected for spring 2016.

Library Commission member Peggy Pleasant said she likes the direction the library and public space design is heading but thinks more could be done to make people aware of the entire project.

"It seems to cater to one demographic of people on face value," she said. "That being said, you guys have addressed it. I just think, going forward, this definitely meets the needs of all of the citizens of Austin, but I don't know if it's necessarily being parlayed to the public. It needs to be something that everyone feels that they can relate to."