Leander residents are closer to having a newly renovated city hall.

During Thursday night's meeting, Leander City Council looked at updated architecture designs for the renovation and expansion at Pat Bryson Municipal Hall and the attached fire station.

The city hall expansion is contingent upon the completion of the city’s fourth fire station, which is currently under construction at Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Crystal Falls Parkway, Leander Assistant City Manager Tom Yantis said. Once Fire Station No. 4 is complete next summer, the staff from Fire Station No. 1 will be able to relocate to the new building.

The first fire station is slated to be renovated to enable city hall to expand, Yantis said. The revamped space will house the building inspection, economic development, engineering, municipal court and planning departments and divisions.

The city budgeted $2.2 million for the project through previously issued certificates of obligation, and Yantis said the estimated construction cost for city hall is $1.9 million, which does not include items such as furniture or communications. At this time, Yantis said the project is still on budget.

City Council evaluated the updated designs Thursday night in order to give feedback to the architects of the project, Yantis said. Their feedback could be incorporated into any final revisions of the design.

“Every addition adds cost, so we’ve been trying to be mindful of making it look nice, but also staying within our budget,” he said to council. “That’s kind of the balancing act we’re at right now.”

Yantis said construction for the project would take about five months to construct, so an expanded city hall could be complete by the end of 2017.