Palmdale May Try to Turn Vacant Penney’s Store Into Library

The old J.C. Penney building in downtown Palmdale, due to be vacated this fall when the store moves to a new regional mall, could be renovated into an expanded city library by early next year under a plan adopted this week by the City Council.

City officials plan to open negotiations to buy or lease the 32-year-old building from its owner, a partnership headed by Reseda businessman Melvyn Starkman. The Penney’s building would nearly triple the space of the city’s now 13-year-old library.

For several years, the city had been planning to renovate and expand the 12,000-square-foot library at 700 E. Palmdale Blvd. to meet the demands of a growing population. But city officials recently dropped those plans after bids for the project came back in excess of $600,000.

For that price, the Spanish-style library would have been expanded by only 3,000 square feet. City officials have estimated that the cost of upgrading Penney’s building, which has 31,000 square, at $775,000, not including purchase or lease costs.

“I’m excited about the prospect if we are able to follow through on this,” said Linda Storsteen, Palmdale city librarian. She said the Penney building is large enough, just a few blocks from the current library in a central location and has ample parking.

Even so, city officials acknowledged, they have yet to closely inspect the building, which is at 38548 Sierra Highway. Although it does have fire sprinklers, city officials said, the possibility of asbestos removal and structural upgrades could substantially increase the cost.

Storsteen called it “the only building big enough in town to really service our needs.” The librarian said she had been thinking of the building as a potential library well before the J.C. Penney Co. announced plans to move into the Antelope Valley Mall, which is under construction.

The current library, near City Hall and the first building built by the city, would be converted to some other municipal use, Storsteen said.