Trustees back temporary relocation of Escondido library to North County Mall

Escondido Library Board of Trustees members voted 5-0 to recommend a temporary relocation of the Escondido Public Library to a 50,000-square-foot space on the North County Mall’s third floor, the site formerly occupied by Forever 21 next to the food court.

Staff presented three options: the Center for the Arts (CCAE) museum space (9,695 square feet), a storefront on East Grand Avenue (about 13,500 square feet), and the North County Mall site (about 50,000 square feet). Francisco Vargas, a management analyst in the city’s Economic Development office, told trustees the mall space is “move in ready” and can accommodate the full collection, staff and the Friends of the Library bookstore. Vargas said staff’s recommendation was to move forward with option C at the North County Mall, “the site, formerly occupied by Forever 21 located next to the food court.”

The staff presentation included preliminary cost estimates the city described as conservative starting points: the Center for the Arts option was listed in the materials as $5,500,000 (the presentation also listed $510,420 per year “at a minimum” for that option), the East Grand storefront at roughly $550,000 per year plus tenant improvements (the building would require seismic retrofit and code work), and the North County Mall option at about $540,000 per year. Vargas also listed initial moving bids of about $50,000 and estimated rental or furniture needs (book carts and related rentals) in initial quotes near $50,000 per year; costs for marketing/wayfinding and some IT equipment remain unknown.

Trustees asked about accessibility, services for people experiencing homelessness, mall hours and security. Staff said the mall has public transportation access and that mall doors can open earlier than standard store hours, which may allow library hours to approximate current service hours; mall management had not yet finalized policies affecting patrons without stable housing. Staff reported a freight elevator with direct access to the storefront and said the mall’s general manager did not object to the Friends of the Library selling books at the location. Staff also noted a remaining question about whether the mall structure on the third floor can support the full weight of the library collection; the city will make that a negotiation point with the property owner.

Trustee John moved the board’s recommendation to pursue option C; Trustee Tyler Baker seconded. The motion carried 5-0. Staff said the board’s recommendation will go to city council in closed session so staff can hear council negotiation points; staff will then negotiate a lease with the landlord and return final numbers and a negotiated lease to council. Jenna Pruchenik, Director of Economic Development, told the board staff anticipates bringing a negotiated lease to council and will return with final costs; staff set March 19 as the council closed-session date for lease negotiation direction.

Next steps identified by staff include obtaining mall blueprints and detailed layouts to finalize space planning (including where the Friends bookstore and children’s and adult sections would sit), negotiating tenant improvements and IT/data drop needs, resolving security and ranger-presence questions with mall management, and clarifying which costs the independent Friends of the Library would be expected to cover. Trustees requested the city provide the board with the planned public communications before it is released.

Votes at a glance: Motion to recommend the North County Mall temporary location (Option C) — moved by John (Trustee), seconded by Tyler Baker (Trustee); outcome: approved 5-0.