Item B: City Hall/Police Building Priority Issue

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4/6 The City of Pasadena is in the beginning stages of a 117 million dollar renovation to its City Hall building and all city employees have been relocated. Before embarking on this process the city explored many options for a new city hall building, including demolishing the existing building. The city council decided that refurbishing the existing building was the best course to take. The city has a strong identity with historical structures and the existing City Hall building, constructed in 1927 with a domed roof has a special significance to its citizens. Maintenance of this historical structure was a major factor in the city council's decision to renovate rather than to demolish. This was not the least expensive option. Two main options were explored for the necessary seismic upgrades to the building. The least costly in the short term was to use a standard shear wall approach that also included reinforcing structural elements. The shear wall strengthening approach tended to be more invasive to the historic elements of the building. The alternative approach that was ultimately chosen was to use a base isolator system to cushion the building in event of a major earthquake. This system, though more costly initially, would result in less damage to the historic elements of the building during a seismic event, thereby safeguarding historic features and reducing long-term repair costs. J. Foster Hildreth City Hall Project Manager City of Pasadena, CA Generally speaking a major building renovation that includes significant seismic upgrades, complete revamping of the mechanical and electrical systems, wall changes, and upgrades to thermal and moisture systems, is likely to be more expensive than simply demolishing the existing and building a new structure. Walter Daffe Chambers Construction Eugene, OR 97401 The City of Portland, Oregon, completed the remodeling of their City Hall building in 1998. Before beginning this work a task force was established to develop a financial and cost analysis to determine if the structure should be renovated or demolished. The 4- story building, originally built in 1895, with a stone exterior was in need of major repairs. In fact the City Building Bureau determined that unless a major rehabilitation was done, they would classify it as un-inhabitable. A consultant team was hired in 1994 to study various options including: 1. Relocating staff to leased space, demolishing the building and building new, 2. Finding a new site, building a new building and disposing of the current building, 3. Relocating staff to leased space, renovating the building and moving staff back in, and 4. Moving staff permanently to leased space and disposing of the building. A task force determined that V:541-686-2031 P.O. Box 24705 Eugene, OR 97402 Fax: 541-686-3392