San Diego, CA – Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering, along with development partners Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects, Spurlock Landscape Architects, and stakeholders, are pleased to announce the library located at 1198 N. Imperial Avenue is now open and serving the El Centro community. A Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to mark the occasion was held on Thursday, November 10, 2022. The $17 million new library was funded by Measure P, passed by voters in November 2016, which allowed the city to collect sales tax revenues to construct the new library. The El Centro Library is the newest project in Latitude 33’s extensive portfolio of civic buildings to help support thriving communities.
Latitude 33 provided engineering services for the 19,811-square-foot new El Centro Library. The previous library was damaged by a 7.2 earthquake that struck Baja California on April 4, 2010, and it was demolished in 2016. The new library features an expansive lobby, light-filled community room, computer area, study rooms, Friends of the Library bookstore, outdoor patios, and reading areas for children, teens, and adults. It also includes design elements that reflect the region’s topography, including gabion (rock-filled) fences and color and texture palettes which mimic the appearance of the canyon walls of the Painted Gorge area near Ocotillo, about 25 miles west of El Centro.
Justin R. Giles, PE, Associate with Latitude 33, states, “It’s very rewarding to deliver this beautiful library, and bring to life the vision cast by El Centro city officials and community members seeking to enhance their neighborhood. This space will be a regional beacon that will provide enrichment, learning, and a context for community-building for generations to come.”
About Latitude 33Founded in 1993, Latitude 33 Planning and Engineering offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to design. The firm provides public sector planning, land use planning, public outreach, entitlement services, civil engineering design, and surveying/mapping to public agencies, developers and property owners. The firm’s breadth of expertise includes life sciences, residential, education, healthcare, military, commercial/retail, civic, hospitality, and design-build projects.
