Independence City Hall construction began in 1978 and was completed over four years. The current building is a three story, steel and concrete structure with masonry veneer. The building is located on the historic Independence Square, which has served as the heart of our community since our founding in 1827.
At the direction of City Council, staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to engage an architectural and engineering (A&E) firm to assist with an evaluation of city hall in February 2017. After a review of written proposals and interviews, TreanorHL was selected as the most qualified firm for this work.
TreanorHL completed the first two phases of the project as outlined in their scope of work. Phase 1 was an existing conditions survey of city hall and other public buildings which could potentially benefit from consolidated spaces. The consultant evaluated deferred maintenance requirements, including ADA compliance, life safety issues, building code requirements, and routine maintenance. The Phase 1 report included recommendations with cost estimates for repair or replacement projects.
Phase 2 developed the building program requirements and building space and parking needs. During this phase, the consultant conducted a program review workshop with city departments, including the City Council, to evaluate departmental needs, adjacency requirements, access needs, and parking requirements. The consultant developed three scenarios for meeting the identified needs: (1) renovating city hall; (2) renovating and expanding city hall; and (3) constructing a new city hall.
TreanorHL provided the existing conditions survey (phase 1) and building space needs (phase 2) report on June 26, 2017. The existing conditions survey found "maintenance and infrastructure items", "code, life safety, and ADA items", and "program, security, and 'customer service' items". The building space needs survey found the existing City Hall has 47,500 square feet, while program needs at that time represented 41,297 square feet.
The next steps of this project were to be completed in Phases 3 and 4 but were never initiated by the City. Phase 3 would determine the costs and viability to renovate the existing City Hall versus constructing a new facility. Phase 4 would further develop the selected concept for use by the City in public discussions. This phase would have also included a streetscape concept for the downtown area to ensure any improvements connect to the Independence Square.
In November 2020, Renaissance Infrastructure Consulting (RIC) completed a structural analysis of City Hall, "limited to the cause of distress/cracking of the glazing." This report "identified creep as being a probable issue that has led to the
distress/cracking in the glazing." To address the cracking, the report recommended replacement of the window system where cracks in glazing is present. Of note, the report also recommended "the City avoid storing heavy loads, such as filing cabinets or stacks of boxed hard copy documents near the perimeter of the building."
In November 2023, the City again engaged RIC to inspect cracked and dislodged brick tile veneer near the front entrance of City Hall. Creep was again cited as a contributing factor, as were "the minimal or lack of sufficient control joints where the cracked brick veneer has taken place". This time, the replacement of windows was estimated at $1.2 million.
While working on comparative numbers for the acquisition of the Landmark Building, City staff asked RIC what cost would be associated with mitigating the structural creep issue. They noted that, while the windows could be replaced with thicker/more substantial frames (estimated cost of $1.2M), there was no feasible fix for structural creep.
As the City continues to evaluate the condition of its facilities, future space needs, preserving the core functions of governance on the historic Square, and how to utilize our real estate for maximum economic impact, City staff recommends completing the City Hall master plan and concept design studies that were not initiated in 2017. This information will better inform community dialogue and City Council deliberations as a potential General Obligation Bond initiative is further refined.