The $58.5 million library and City Hall renovation project was approved by voters in a 2021 bond election. The bond project included temporary renovation for the library, which would have taken place over the course of a year. It also included the renovation of City Hall but not its relocation. Renovations scheduled at the library include increasing floor space, providing more accessible community areas and repairing exterior structural deficiencies.
However, a fire at City Hall on Aug. 22 led to delays on the library renovations, in turn causing construction costs for the project to increase, in addition to requiring the city to take out a 42-month lease to temporarily relocate the library during work.
According to city officials, the estimated renovation costs increased by $12 million to $48.1 million, including $4.2 million in relocation expenses and nearly $3 million in scope/site enhancements to the current library site. In order to offset the increased cost, city officials plan to issue $9 million in supplemental Certificates of Obligation bonds in 2023. If a new City Hall is approved by voters and if needed, the city will issue an additional $3 million in CO bonds in 2024.
Following the fire, City Hall's workforce relocated to four buildings: Police Support Building, Substation 2, Municipal Court and Richardson Innovation Quarter headquarters. In addition, public meetings were moved to other city and Richardson ISD facilities. Magner said the library needs to be relocated during the duration of the reconstruction project.
The temporary City Hall and library is set to be located at 2360 Campbell Creek Blvd. Council has authorized Magner to negotiate and sign a 3.5-year lease with option to extend as needed, which gives the city time to complete the renovations and an additional six-month grace period, according to city officials.
All current city departments, in addition to the council chambers, can be accommodated in the temporary location, according to Magner. The combined temporary space is approximately 77,500 square feet.
The city is expected to move in to the new site during the summer of 2023, with the lease ending in January 2027.
