A request for proposals issued this week by the Saskatoon Public Library (SPL) seeks a contractor to handle demolition of the strip mall currently occupying 301 2nd Ave. N., as well as cleanup of the site once the teardown is complete.

Work is scheduled to start on Aug. 9, and the site is to be turned back over to the library on Oct. 24.

An SPL spokesman confirmed the demolition date, and noted the work will be completed in accordance with Leadership in Energy and Enviornmental Design (LEED), a green building certification program started in the ’90s.

“This will involve a comprehensive hazardous materials abatement process and recycling as much non-hazardous material as possible,” he wrote in an emailed statement to Postmedia.

More remediation work will be done at the site construction starts, which is expected in 2023. The new library is expected to open in 2026.

SPL has previously released updates on the building design after rounds of public consultation, most recently in January, when it released the schematic design for the structure.

These have revealed plans for a four-level building meant to evoke a traditional First Nations teepee, with a sloping exterior of modular panels in a basket-weave pattern. The interior timbers are meant to reference a Métis-style log cabin.

The first level will be for high-volume traffic and activities. The upper levels will be designed to be quieter, with spaces for more focused activities.

Keep reading in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix