The Aug. 15 meeting of the Fayetteville City Council provided the first glance of the new City Hall to be located on Stonewall Avenue a block from downtown. The sneak-peak from City Manager Ray Gibson also provided a look at the accompanying City Center Park project that will encompass the majority of the 10-acre site.
The new City Hall complex will sit streetside adjacent to Stonewall Avenue just west of the county complex and the downtown intersection of Stonewall Avenue and Glynn Street.
“We’ve been working on the design process for 6-8 months,” said Gibson.
Though detailed plans for the building will not be available for a number of weeks, the rendering provided by the city shows a 34,000 sq. ft., 2-story building of brick and other materials, with tower-like structures and large windows on the east and west sides and in the center.
While there will likely be adjustments made to the plan, Gibson’s presentation also highlighted the City Center Park project that will be under construction simultaneously with the City Hall project.
The City Center Park will come with a wealth of features designed to attract large numbers to the area and, when complete, will be the largest outdoor meeting space in the downtown area.
A sampling of the park features include numerous walkways and pedestrian pathways, a splash pad and playground, restrooms and changing rooms, a water feature, a grass mall with a performance area, a pond and dog park, interconnected streets and a wealth of trees, shrubs and flowers.
Retained in the process are the old Fayette County gym and the school system’s bus barn. Both will be redesigned and portions of both will be leased to as yet unnamed tenants.
The projects will come with a $23 million price tag, of which $19 million will cover construction costs. The projects incude a $1 million contingency. The projects will be financed through the city’s Public Facilities Authority.
Both projects are anticipated to be completed in late 2020.
It was thought earlier in the year that the two projects would need to extend Heritage Parkway, which runs from South Glynn Street between the county complex and the Fayette County Library to the new city property, to connect to the new city developments. A roundabout was proposed to interconnect the areas. That is no longer the case, as a main access point into the 10-acre site will be by way of Stonewall Avenue.
The coming weeks or months are expected to provide additional details on both the City Hall and City Center Park projects.
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