By Melos Ambaye and Ruby Gregg
Lexington City Hall is outdated and falling apart, and officials say a renovation cannot be put off any longer.
Mayor Frank Friedman said city council will likely decide in May whether it wants to spend over $6 million to renovate the building.
The building has several issues: The elevator doesn’t work. The windows in several rooms don’t close. The electrical fuses are unsafe and shock anyone who messes with them. The roof has visible water damage. The fire escapes appear flimsy and are covered with flakes of rust.
“We have electrical issues where if you use the wrong plug, it will blow a fuse,” Finance Director Jennifer Bell said in an interview. “There are some issues with the piping, toilets and water. So just the basic things that after decades and decades, you really need to make some improvements.”
The red brick building on East Washington Street was built in 1892. It was home to the Ruffner School from 1892 to 1961. It was a multi-functioning building until the 1980s, when it housed the circuit court, police station jail and emergency dispatch services. The building has been the Lexington City Hall since 1961 and has not been renovated since 1984.
“If we had done it 10 years ago, it probably would have been about $2 million,” Friedman said in an interview. “When you see those circumstances, you get a little bit of a sense of urgency.”
The mayor said city council members have been talking for years about renovating City Hall.
“It got kicked in 2008 because of the financial crisis and tightening of the belt,” he said. “For the past 20 years, it’s been kicked down the road.”
Parameters of construction
Like Friedman, Patrick Madigan, director of Public Works, blames inflation and rising construction costs, especially for a building that has been designated as historic by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Madigan said any renovation to City Hall must preserve certain historical architectural elements to retain its historic building designation.
Madigan said city officials and other workers will need to move once construction begins. Finding alternative spaces for them will drive up the renovation’s price tag to $6.8 million, he said.
“That cost includes the temporary relocation,” Madigan said in an interview. “You can’t live in there while these renovations are happening. It would make for an unsafe workplace.”
City Manager Jim Halasz said the city could borrow money, issue bonds, or rely on savings to pay for the renovation. He also said the city could use a combination of borrowing money and relying on savings, depending on the interest rate.
“We do have a revised cost for this project. It’s obviously higher than any of us would’ve hoped for, and we will try to control those costs as we move forward,” Halasz said in a Feb. 15 council work session.
The city manager is asking city council to approve a nearly $8.8 million capital improvement plan that includes the City Hall renovation and several other projects, such as:
- $930,000 to build an auxiliary gym at Rockbridge County High School.
- $865,000 to repair streets, parking and sidewalks.
- $550,000 to make improvements in parks and cemeteries.
Bell said the proposal would be funded primarily through real estate and personal property taxes. She said this year’s proposal is higher than previous years because of the City Hall project.
Looking ahead
If city council approves, Bell said, the City Hall renovations could begin in a year.
“That’s the green light,” Madigan said. “That’s when I need to hit the ground running with the design.”
He said he estimates it could take between 17 and 19 months to renovate the building.
Bell said the city may rent mobile office units during construction, or workers might be relocated to other city-owned buildings.
Friedman said the displacement of city officials will pose challenges.
“It’ll be inconvenient but short lived,” he said. “The old short-term pain for long-term gain.”