City Administrator Bruce Grubb joins Amy & JJ to talk about the construction of Fargo’s new city hall & plans for the old building and future of the civic center.
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Construction continues on the new City Hall in downtown Fargo
The new building will include about 80 underground parking spots for staff.
More from KFGO News:
Nearly a year and a half after ground was broken, construction on Fargo’s new city hall is
wrapping up
.
City Administrator Bruce Grubb, says contractors expects the “keys to be turned over” by the end of this month or the early part of May.
Change orders increased the cost of the low bid of $22.5 million by about 3 percent, which Grubb says is reasonable considering the project size. Much of that was attributed to a city commission decision to install larger windows after it was determined the design lacked natural light.
Grubb says it will take another two months to complete “fit-up” of offices and I-T installation. The move to the new building will start in Mid-July, which will take another 30 days. He says by mid to late August, “We expect to be open for business.”
The current City Hall, with 24,000 square feet of office space will be demolished once the move is completed to the new building next door. That should be completed by early October.
The new City Hall has 94,000 square feet of office space, along with underground parking and mechanical space.
With the demolition of the old City Hall,
re-repurposing
the Fargo Civic Center into a performance hall is back on the front burner.
A study was completed in 2015 and the consensus was to demolish the 60 year-old Civic Center and re-build. However, no further action was taken pending completion of the new city hall this April.
City commissioners have approved formation of a sub-committee to study a design, come up with a better cost estimate, a financing plan that would involve a private-public partnership, and a plan for a private fund-raising campaign.
Commissioner Dave Piepkorn says the committee will get an updated cost estimate. He calls this project a “huge change for downtown….a huge economic driver,” calling it “a great opportunity.”
Commissioner Tony Gehring voted against the proposal. He wonders how it will be paid for and expects it will result in a tax increase. He says the city has “gigantic needs” including a new cost estimate for the diversion project which he expects will increase. He calls the project is “misguided, dangerous, to go this far into debt for things you don’t need.” He says he hopes the taxpayers of Fargo are paying attention.
The feasibility study originally estimated the cost at around $50 million.
(Amy Iler & JJ Gordon are talk-show hosts at 790 AM KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. “It Takes 2 with Amy & JJ” can be heard weekdays 11am-2pm. Follow Amy on Twitter @AmyKFGO. Follow JJ on Twitter @JJGodon701.)
