On January 20, 2026, the El Cerrito City Council received a presentation from the Griffin Group, City staff, and Contra Costa County Library.  Griffin Group's analysis outlined the benefits, limitations and uncertainties of five scenarios. The scenarios ranged from renovating the existing Stockton Ave. structure, rebuilding a two-story building at the Stockton Ave location, building a Plaza Station Library and two scenarios at undisclosed retail locations - a new building and a retrofit of an existing building. 

The Griffin Structures analysis supports only two viable alternatives - Scenarios 2 and 3 - Rebuild at Stockton (Scenario 2) and the Plaza Station Library (Scenario 3). Renovating the existing library (Scenario 1) is an unacceptable $10.3 million short-term solution that will reduce the usable space. Scenarios 4 and 5 require property acquisition and removing retail property from sales and property tax generation and the locations are unknown.

The current Stockton Avenue library opened in 1949 is:
• Too small - only 6,500 square feet
• Does not meet seismic standards or Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• May contain hazardous materials from 1949
• Is noisy and adjacent BART tracks
• Inadequate spaces for small children, teens and people of all ages,
• Has faulty windows so cannot be appropriately heated or cooled
• Floods in heavy rains
• Limited hours because the Librarian working space is limited the library hours are limited to
46 hours per week.

The Scenario 2 rebuild is smaller than desired and is two stories, which would require
additional staff. If parking is added, it is comparable in cost to the Plaza Station Library. Please
tell the City Council they need to either seriously explore these two alternatives, or seriously
move forward with the only viable single-story 20,000 square foot alternative - the Plaza
Station Library - and resolve the two unknowns - a ground lease agreement with BART and a
development agreement with Related California.

Library Scenarios Presented at January 20, 2026 City Council Meeting

Scenario 1 Renovate Existing 6,500 SF Library

• Cost: $10,346,000
• Addresses basic code and accessibility issues only
• Usable space decreases due to ADA requirements
• Does not address size deficit or service gaps
• Short-term solution focused on keeping doors open
• Still limited to a maximum of 46 hours f operation due to limitations of current space

Scenario 2 Rebuild and Expand Existing Library to 13,000 SF

• Cost: $29,356,000 or $35,785,000 with optional parking structure in basement
• Still below peer library benchmark for usable area per resident
• Conflicts with County preference for single-story libraries
• Higher operating and staffing costs
• Partial improvement, but limited long-term value

Scenario 3 Build 20,000 SF Library in El Cerrito Plaza Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)

• Cost: $37,224,000
• Co-located with transit and other community amenities
• Assumes long-term 99-year lease structure (i.e. $1/year)
• Requires development agreement coordination
• Fully supports modern library services

Scenario 4 Build Standalone 20,000 SF Library on New Site

• Cost: $43,186,000 or $47,900,000 with parking structure
• Purpose-built facility
• Maximum design flexibility
• Requires property acquisition
• Requires analysis of lost sales/property tax revenue
• Fully aligns with best practices

Scenario 5 Renovate and Existing 20,000 SF Building into Library

• Cost: $40,604,000
• Adaptive reuse opportunity
• Dependent on site availability and location
• Requires property acquisition
• Requires analysis of lost Sale/property tax revenue
• Comparable service to new construction
• Potentially shorter lifespan