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NOVEMBER 9, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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Construction continues on White sh City Hall. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
White sh City Hall Taking Shape as Downtown Centerpiece City o cials say new building set for completion in April 2017
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BY TRISTAN SCOTT OF THE BEACON
WHITEFISH — No longer a glimmer in the city’s eye, a new civic centerpiece is emerging on the corner of 2nd Street and Baker Avenue, where construction crews are six months away from complet- ing the new municipal building and adja- cent parking structure that will anchor the town’s city services.
It’s been a year since demolition began of the historic city hall, and after a series of stumbling blocks in the early phases of construction, including a budget over- run that caused the project’s price tag to balloon from $14.95 million to more than $16 million, a new future is rising from the rubble.
Once a mere architectural rendering, the sketched outlines of White sh’s new city hall and parking structure are ll- ing in with the project’s most prominent features and design elements, including a pair of arched windows facing the down- town corridor, as well as its red-brick façade, a nod to the old city hall, and tow- ering banks of windows anking Baker Avenue and 2nd Street. A grand stair- case leads from the two-story open lobby to the oors above, and a skylight oods the community space with natural light.
To the north, the behemoth park- ing structure is nearing completion, at which point an additional 211 spaces will join the downtown core’s limited inven- tory, relieving congestion for motorists,
pedestrians and downtown businesses. The 84,000-square-feet structure rises three stories and will include 3,000 square feet of retail space, which the city plans to lease out.
A throwback to the original city hall’s architecture, a “sophisticated White sh aesthetic” runs throughout the “timeless design,” according to plans, and the use of natural materials are transforming the structure into a building that matches White sh’s unique style and character — a leading factor in the amount of time invested in nalizing a design schematic.
Facing out onto both Baker Ave- nue and 2nd Street, the new municipal buildings occupy prominent real estate in White sh’s downtown center, and its third- oor spaces o er stunning views of Big Mountain.
“It’s coming along really well,” Mike Cronquist, the city’s project manager, said. “It’s really taking form and shape, and I’m pleased with the progress and how things are coming together. It’s going to be a top-notch facility.”
A new city hall building has been in the cards for White sh since 1987 when it was identi ed as a priority in an urban renewal plan. In 2005, a downtown mas- ter plan also speci ed the need for a new facility.
White sh city employees were spread out across several locations and the existing building and council chambers had grown outmoded, according to the
downtown master plan. The city looked at remodeling the existing building, but it wasn’t logistically or nancially feasible due to structural de ciencies.
In 2011, the city council established a steering committee to help usher the divi- sive project to fruition, and city leaders ulti- mately settled on the new city hall building with an adjacent parking structure.
In late October 2015, crews began demolishing the 97-year-old historic city hall and embarked on the project in ear- nest, but quickly encountered poor soil conditions and contaminated soil that required cleanup, as well as swelling prices for materials.
Since the construction moved above ground, Cronquist said there have been no major issues, and his most recent report to council states that the project was 65 per- cent complete at the end of October.
Meanwhile, concrete work is 75 per- cent complete, while interior framing is 85 percent complete.
“Once we got out of the mud, things have been moving along smoothly,” Cron- quist said.
Set for completion in early April, city sta will move into their new digs in May. All costs of the project are paid from the accumulated savings of the tax-incre- ment nance fund, which culls a reserve of property tax collections and allows the funds to be used for infrastructure
improvements.
tscott@ atheadbeacon.com
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