The heavy lifting is about to begin on Columbus city hall’s renovation.
The city has a $1.5 million interior and exterior renovation under way for the aging building, which was built roughly a century ago and was last renovated in the 1980s. It is being paid for by a Community Heritage Preservation grant through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
George Irby, assistant to the director of community development in Columbus, said serious work should start in the next few weeks. Light work on the exterior has already started.
“The occupants of city hall should be moving out toward the end of the month,” Irby said. “They’ll be moving to the area of the municipal complex. I think the mayor’s office will in fact be in the municipal complex.”
Irby said the employees will be out anywhere from six to 10 months. Window and door renovations will be done simultaneously.
Meridian-based architecture firm LPK Architects is overseeing the project, and Columbus-based Burks-Mordecai construction company is the general contractor.
Irby said the late Sam Kaye, a preservationist with the Mississippi Heritage Board and architect with LPK Architects, did preliminary drawings for the project a few years ago.
“Sam had done a project at the Queen City Hotel that was torn down,” Irby said. “After it was torn down, the grant was still on the books with the state Legislature. We were able to convert that money — which was about $75,000 — to this particular project of renovating city hall.”
“At first it was going to be windows and doors,” Irby said. “But later, we got a grant for $500,000. With that particular grant, we got an architect to do a design for the interior. In the process of getting that $500,00, we were able to get another half-million dollars as an appropriation from the state, which made it $1 million that we had.”
Irby said the city then decided to make the project an interior and exterior renovation. An architect drafted plans for a $1.5 million project. Exterior renovations include an updated handicap ramp leading up to the building, new doors and windows and underground relocation of utilities, as well as pressure washing.
“We decided to do the renovation for the exterior and interior at the same time,” Irby said. “That way we only have to make one move out for the people who have offices there, and once it’s done they can come back in.”
The city is still $500,000 away from the $1.5 million. Irby said officials hope to get additional funding through the state Legislature.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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