City hall renovation plans on schedule
By Barbara Arntsen
Published in News on August 15, 2004 7:28 AM
The building and renovation plans for Goldsboro's new city hall are ahead of schedule, and the city expects to award the construction contract in early December.
Partin & Hobbs Architects is designing the $5 million expansion, which is scheduled to go out for construction bids in November. The two-phase project should be completed within two years.
Architect Grimsely Hobbs gave an update to the council's steering committee Friday about the design work. City Councilmen Chuck Allen, Jimmy Bryan and Charles Williams are on the committee.
The proposal consists of two buildings, preservation of the historic building, and a new 30,000-square-foot building that would be connected by a bridge.
The annex building will be torn down, because it's not worthy of renovation and has no historic value.
The new addition will be set back from the historic building, so the historic structure would dominate. The addition will be similar in style to City Hall, but it won't be an imitation.
Setting the new building back will also provide room for a plaza with a fountain, and a pedestrian walkway will separate the two buildings.
The second-story bridge will be encased in glass.
Phase I includes the construction of the new addition and of a 73-space parking lot on the east side of the complex. The first phase will cost about $3.5 million.
Phase II includes the renovation and restoration of the first and second floors of City Hall, plus demolition of the annex. The bridge and additional parking lot will also be built during the second phase. This phase is estimated to cost $1.5 million.
The statutes of "Liberty" and "Justice" on the roof of the old building will be restored and made waterproof.