Irwindale Public Library — PJ Empire Construction

The work

A brand-new public library for the City of Irwindale at 16053 Calle de Paseo, built across the street from the old one. PJ Empire held the rough carpentry subcontract: every wood wall, the roof structure, the entry tower and the sheathing that turned a slab into a building.

Framing ran from October 2025 into January 2026. The plan is a single story wrapped around a tall reading room, with a hipped tower over the entrance and arched openings along the street. Our crews stood the walls, set the roof joists over the long spans, framed the tower, and sheathed the whole shell so the roof tile and stucco could follow. The library opened to the public on August 15, 2026.

Scope

All wood wall framing, exterior and interior
Roof structure and entry tower
Roof and wall sheathing
Shear walls, holdowns and hardware
Backing for mechanical and ductwork
Public-works prevailing-wage project

Four months in ninety seconds

The City of Irwindale filmed the build. This is their two-minute timelapse of the framing window, October 21, 2025 through January 25, 2026.

The framed and sheathed library shell from above, arched entries along the street

Inside the shell: shear walls and roof joists over the reading room

Roof joists spanning the main room, windows framed to the street

The framed shell at dusk with the entry tower

Mechanical ductwork routed through the finished framing

Roof tile and stucco going on over the frame, January 2026

Photographs and timelapse courtesy of the City of Irwindale, from the City’s public project updates.

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