Repairs are underway at the Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library to correct an issue present since the building’s opening: a “black substance” has been dripping from the building’s exterior since shortly after it was completed five years ago.
“When I came over here, and I saw [the construction], I thought ‘what the heck is going on now,’” Brookfield resident Eileen Dow-Sarocco said.
Since July 2021, when construction on the new library finished, the substance has been dripping from the library’s outside walls. The leak was a combination of several building materials, which chemically combined to form the oozing substance. In an FAQ on the library’s website, the library said it was replacing the building’s envelope “ahead of possible water incursions and structural damage.” Repairs to fix the issue started on May 11 and are expected to last through September.
“In my professional opinion, I think it’s a little soon for this to happen,” said Chyanne Husar, an architect and founder of Chicago-based architecture and sustainability firm Husarch. Husar was interviewed as she happened to visit the library July 6. “It’s definitely a shame that the village has to go through this, but I’m glad that they’re taking corrective action.”
Issues like these are not unheard of, she said. While they could result from design, construction, or material issues, Husar said that, without knowing details about the construction process, “you can’t really point fingers.” In an unfiled legal complaint last year, library officials alleged the issue stemmed from effects of the high temperatures induced by the exterior envelope’s design on the construction materials that liquefied into the substance.
Some Brookfield residents are worried about the project’s potential cost to the library. Brookfield resident Eileen Skisak said she hoped the library did not have to pay for the project.
“We’ve all been through construction projects. When the material’s not up to standard, they [the contractors] come back, and they should pay to fix it,” Skisak said.
Library officials last year settled out of court with contractors and subcontractors on the initial building project. According to the settlement, the construction companies involved are providing $635,000. The library will pay the remaining expenses, $1.13 million, out of its reserves, Executive Director Kimberly Coughran said in an email to the Landmark after construction began.
While Dow-Sarocco said she loves the library and feels the taxes she pays are “worth it,” she believes “a lot of money at the library goes wasted.”
“If it was a construction error, then it should be paid for by the constructors, and not the people of Brookfield,” Dow-Sarocco said.
Coughran said the costs of the repairs will represent “zero burden to taxpayers,” since they come entirely from the library’s cash reserves.
While the ongoing construction may present some financial questions for the library, it is not interrupting the library’s operations. Danny Dane, who moved to Brookfield six months ago, says the construction is “not bad.”
“It doesn’t really affect the functionality of the library,” he said.
Construction is expected to continue through the end of September.The library anticipates maintaining its regular summer hours throughout the whole project.