BATON ROUGE, LA — April 26, 2018 — There are two parties involved in the construction of the River Center Branch Library. WHLC Architecture – Schwartz/Silver, a joint venture, is the architect of record tasked with the design and construction administration, and Buquet & LeBlanc is the contractor charged with building the structure. Both companies are bonded and insured as a condition of their contracts with the City-Parish.

The contractor issued a letter on April 23, 2018, citing a structural design deficiency as the cause of the incident. The City-Parish has been in constant contact with the architectural design team and is awaiting their initial report, which will outline the cause of the incident and any corrective measures that need to be taken. At this time, we cannot speculate as to the cause of the failure or the costs or time delays that could be incurred. Once we have the opportunity to review the design team’s report tomorrow afternoon, we will provide an update on the situation. Any deficiencies or issues would fall on the parties responsible as defined by their contracts.

It should be clarified that the City-Parish does not take ownership of the building until it is completed and accepted. Our role at this time is to ensure public safety and to protect the taxpayers’ investments.