CTroyMathis
01-12-2003, 11:06 PM
Lewisville: Rain delays City Hall completion
Officials say new facililty should be good to go in May
01/08/2003
By LESLEY TÉLLEZ / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/city/denton/stories/010803dndencityhall.64508.html
Recent bursts of rain have pushed back the completion date of Lewisville's new city hall.
The $12.4 million facility on Church and Mill streets in Old Town, was originally projected to be done in March, project officials said. Now it's looking more like May.
Although the last two months of rain are the main reason for the delay, construction workers have fought Mother Nature from the beginning, said Gary Davis, Old Town project manager.
New City Hall
Virtual Tour of Lewisville's planned City Hall (http://www.cityoflewisville.com/main/NEWCITYHALL/NEWCITY0001.htm)
(from the City of Lewisville official site)
"We had rain back from Day One on the project in the winter," Mr. Davis said. "And it's not like it comes all at once. It dries, then comes and gets the ground nice and soggy. It's just that continuous repetition."
North Texas precipitation levels were about nine inches above normal last year, National Weather Service officials said.
The delay will not equate to higher costs, officials said.
Lewisville city spokesman James Kunke said the delay doesn't bother staff too much. He said they had already been planning to move in July, despite the builder's initial projections of early spring.
"It's kind of like kids at Christmas," Mr. Kunke said. "You see the package, you see it all wrapped up, you might even know what's in it – but you're still eager to tear the paper open. And we're really eager to get into that building."
The new City Hall will house 102 employees from the city secretary and city manager to the human resources, finance and community development departments.
Other departments, including the municipal court, information technology and library staffs, will stay and expand into the current facility on Main Street and Civic Circle. The Police Department will also move its administration and dispatch center onto the second floor of the current building. The city attorney's office, currently at another location on Main Street, will move in as well.
City Hall's delay won't be too serious, Mr. Davis said. The exterior façade of the building is already complete and ready for brick overlay. The fire control and mechanical systems are complete, as is the plumbing. Roof construction is also nearly finished , he said.
Major tasks remaining include landscaping, installation of electrical systems, and paving of parking lots. A fountain was originally planned for the front, but the idea was recently rejected because of high costs.
The new City Hall is being built by Lewisville-based Commercial Structures and Interiors Inc.
At 69,000 square feet, the new building should accommodate the city's growth for the next 10 years, city officials said. The size is almost double that of the current building, which was built in 1989.
"We've just outgrown the building," Mr. Kunke said. "Thirty years ago you didn't even have to have an IT department because computers weren't around. Now they're everywhere. It's just a growth process."
E-mail ltellez@dallasnews.com
Officials say new facililty should be good to go in May
01/08/2003
By LESLEY TÉLLEZ / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/city/denton/stories/010803dndencityhall.64508.html
Recent bursts of rain have pushed back the completion date of Lewisville's new city hall.
The $12.4 million facility on Church and Mill streets in Old Town, was originally projected to be done in March, project officials said. Now it's looking more like May.
Although the last two months of rain are the main reason for the delay, construction workers have fought Mother Nature from the beginning, said Gary Davis, Old Town project manager.
New City Hall
Virtual Tour of Lewisville's planned City Hall (http://www.cityoflewisville.com/main/NEWCITYHALL/NEWCITY0001.htm)
(from the City of Lewisville official site)
"We had rain back from Day One on the project in the winter," Mr. Davis said. "And it's not like it comes all at once. It dries, then comes and gets the ground nice and soggy. It's just that continuous repetition."
North Texas precipitation levels were about nine inches above normal last year, National Weather Service officials said.
The delay will not equate to higher costs, officials said.
Lewisville city spokesman James Kunke said the delay doesn't bother staff too much. He said they had already been planning to move in July, despite the builder's initial projections of early spring.
"It's kind of like kids at Christmas," Mr. Kunke said. "You see the package, you see it all wrapped up, you might even know what's in it – but you're still eager to tear the paper open. And we're really eager to get into that building."
The new City Hall will house 102 employees from the city secretary and city manager to the human resources, finance and community development departments.
Other departments, including the municipal court, information technology and library staffs, will stay and expand into the current facility on Main Street and Civic Circle. The Police Department will also move its administration and dispatch center onto the second floor of the current building. The city attorney's office, currently at another location on Main Street, will move in as well.
City Hall's delay won't be too serious, Mr. Davis said. The exterior façade of the building is already complete and ready for brick overlay. The fire control and mechanical systems are complete, as is the plumbing. Roof construction is also nearly finished , he said.
Major tasks remaining include landscaping, installation of electrical systems, and paving of parking lots. A fountain was originally planned for the front, but the idea was recently rejected because of high costs.
The new City Hall is being built by Lewisville-based Commercial Structures and Interiors Inc.
At 69,000 square feet, the new building should accommodate the city's growth for the next 10 years, city officials said. The size is almost double that of the current building, which was built in 1989.
"We've just outgrown the building," Mr. Kunke said. "Thirty years ago you didn't even have to have an IT department because computers weren't around. Now they're everywhere. It's just a growth process."
E-mail ltellez@dallasnews.com