- November 16, 2024
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City staff started their move Tuesday, Oct. 20. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons.)
The planning and zoning department features large desks, for laying out plans (Photo by Jonathan Simmons.)
The building features energy efficient LED lighting and insulated glass. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons.)
Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts will share this office with City Council members. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons.)
The shovels used in the Oct. 29, 2014 City Hall groundbreaking were moved into the building. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons.)
City Council meetings will now be held in a room designed for the purpose, rather than in meeting room in the community center. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons.)
City Council meetings will now be held in a room designed for the purpose, rather than in meeting room in the community center. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons.)
The view from one of the new City Hall's break rooms looks out on a rain pond planted with water tolerant plants. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons.)
It opens to the public Monday, Oct. 26. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons.)
Workers hauled boxes and furniture into the new City Hall building on Lake Avenue in Town Center Tuesday, Oct. 20, as city employees began moving into their new offices.
The two-story, 41,309-square-foot building will open to the public at 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26, after the current city offices at City Marketplace close for good at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23.
A clock tower marks the new City Hall's main entrance, and large windows look out on the neighboring park.
"One of our goals in designing the building was to make sure that this building reflected the small town atmosphere," city spokeswoman Cindi Lane said. "It's a very manageable size; it's two story, and it really complements the beauty of the park. The building was designed to fit in well with the surrounding community and nature. And this is Town Center, so this is our future downtown, and we wanted this building, this City Hall, to be a place that can kind of anchor that and reflect that growth."
About 135 people will work at the new City Hall, which cost $9.15 million, including primary furniture and equipment.
The building is lit with energy-efficient LED lighting, and the windows are made of insulated glass. The interior is decorated in a palette of tans, browns and turquoise blues, with the names of departments spelled out in cut aluminum letters above the department entrances.
Staff members visited other Florida city halls during the design process, searching for qualities that could be added to Palm Coast's.
"We went to Deland, we went to Winter Garden," said Carl Cote, the city's construction manager. "We asked them what they liked, didn't like, what worked, didn't work, then we incorporated that into our design."
A series of 11 conference rooms are named after Palm Coast's original neighborhoods, and door-sized windows on the building's east side will allow more rooms to be added in a later construction phase.
The building features a large City Council meeting room in its 7,978 square-foot, single-story community wing, and the City Council will hold its first meeting there at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 3 after a grand opening celebration beginning at 4 p.m. and a ribbon cutting at 5:15 p.m.
The building was designed by C.T. Hsu and Associates and built by Gilbane Building Company.
