Council weighs cost options for new town hall by CHRIS BURRITT SUMMERFIELD – After cutting costs for the proposed new town hall, Summerfield Town Council is talking about adding back some of the building features that were either eliminated or reduced in the effort to keep the project costs as close to the budgeted amount as possible.
Artist rendering courtesy of Creech & Associates
The latest rendering of Summerfield’s proposed town hall shows an 8,000+-squarefoot building, reflecting the town council’s decision last spring to reduce the original building design by about 950 feet in an effort to cut projected construction costs. The town’s Finance Committee has expressed concern that the building’s smaller size, which resulted in the elimination of some features, may fall short in meeting the community’s needs for the next 50 years.
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The council discussed this topic – but took no action – during its meeting Jan. 11 after Mayor Tim Sessoms said the Finance Committee “expressed some concern that now the project may not be a sustainable 50-year building.” When the council decided last year to develop a new town hall, members agreed they wanted to construct a building that would accommodate growth of town staff and Summerfield’s population and demand for public space over the next half a century. It set a budget of $3.5 million.
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JAN. 20 - FEB. 2, 2022
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Rising construction costs pushed the project over budget, leading to a reduction of about $790,000 in costs with the elimination of about 950 square feet from the original 9,000-square-foot design, Town Manager Scott Whitaker told the council. Among the changes, the redesign narrowed some hallways, reduced the size of some rooms and eliminated a bathroom and storage space, he said. With those changes, the project is estimated to cost $3.87 million, or $370,000 over budget. Expenses related to restoring those features could possibly increase the cost of town hall to $4.5 million, councilman John O’Day said. If the council were to decide to restore the items, it would increase costs in two ways, Whitaker explained. It would bring back the cost of those features, while requiring the reworking of construction documents at additional expense.
