Development of New Town Hall (on hold)

Summerfield began serious discussions to build a new town hall in 2004 and the effort has ebbed and flowed. Many sites have been explored over the years involving either historic renovation, repurposing an existing facility, or new construction. The two most serious efforts involved construction south of Summerfield Road's fire station and then renovation of the former Gordon Hardware Store. Fast forward to early 2020 and Council decided that new construction of a single-story, 50-year facility would best meet the needs of citizens, committees, Council, and staff as the community continues to grow and mature.

The project was budgeted and planned for FY20–21 and FY21–22 with an expected project total of $3.5M (building construction, site development, furniture, A/V, fees, etc.) and initial size estimation of 9,000 gross SF. Required public processes have been followed to vet both the most qualified architectural firm (Creech & Associates) and Construction-Manager-at-Risk firm (Samet Corporation) and both are under contract. Costs are a key concern of Council and nothing elaborate is anticipated at this price point. Plans are subject to change as the design matures and construction costs are assessed.

The location will be the former 13.3-acre tract referred to as the "northern Gordon tract" along US-220 that the town purchased in 2014. The architect recently completed a "Comprehensive Space Needs Analysis" (linked below) to fine-tune the town's own self-assessment of expected needs, which suggests a need for about 9,300 gross SF. This analysis relies heavily on industry space standards (ex.: a Planner office is typically size X, a small conference room is typically size y, and recent ADA regulations dictate size Z for public restrooms).

Leadership is engaged in its planning—best practices are being considered and we're trying to learn what other municipalities like and don't like about their own buildings. The goal is to bring a new town hall to fruition as a team—Council guiding development, staff researching and managing the overall process, and reputable pros handling design and construction. The architects presented a well-developed concept to the public 2/9 and it is linked below. At Council's 2/13 retreat, a floor plan of 9,060 gross SF was approved and it's also linked.

4/14/21 update: The concept presented 2/9 was determined to likely exceed the $3.5M total project budget given current construction costs. A new concept (linked below) was shown to the community 4/13. It is roughly 1,000 gross SF smaller and more classical in design and layout. More value engineering will likely be needed to stay within budget.

6/23/21 update: The building exterior and interior layout are set and the town continues to work through details within the Design Development stage. Early site work is underway (re: surveying, geotechnical engineering, septic, etc.).

9/15/21 update: According to the CMAR firm (Samet), construction and material costs are currently projected to be higher than anticipated because of market conditions. The planned presentations were pushed back and leadership will continue to monitor pricing and how to deliver the project within budget. A target date for presenting more info is the 11/9 Council meeting.

11/8/21 update: The document to be presented 11/9 is linked below.

1/12/22 update: The latest schedule is for the architect and CMAR firm to present final construction documents and the last pricing estimate at the April Council meeting. The April request will be for approval of all plans in order to bid the project.

Also, Council decided that the town will accept generalized donations to support the town hall project and relevant forms are attached below. Donations will be applied at the discretion of Council, so the town requests that donations not be specific to items (park benches, information technology needs, etc.) or areas as Council's forms suggest. The site plan and building plans are not finalized and supporting specific improvements and/or locations may complicate the use of donated funds.

5/11/22 update: The architect and CMAR firm presented final construction documents and the last pricing estimate at the May Council meeting (link below). Estimated pricing was considerably higher than presented 11/2021. Council decided to not move forward with bidding the project. Instead, exploration of acquiring and renovating Laughlin Professional Development Center was discussed and is being pursued.