Iowa City exploring space needs of City Hall building

IOWA CITY — Iowa City is taking the first step in exploring space and department needs of the City Hall building on Washington Street, which houses various city departments including police and fire.

The city will be working with OPN Architects over the next six months on the master plan and feasibility study project, which the Iowa City Council approved as part of the consent agenda during Tuesday’s meeting. Since it was on the consent agenda, there was no council discussion.

The scope of work includes creating a “cohesive vision for the future departments and the City Hall complex,” facilities manager Kumi Morris said in a memo.

OPN will review the current and projected space and needs of departments — including whether it would be possible to relocate the police department to a stand-alone building.

This work will help the city “develop a blueprint” needs of city operations for decades to come, as well as taking into consideration environmental and energy building practices and the city’s fiscal constraints, Morris said.

Johnson County is a few steps ahead with similar work as it discusses renovating its administrative campus. The first two phases are estimated to cost $9.2 million, according to numbers presented last month.

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County officials and staff have said the project — funded by the general fund and American Rescue Plan Act dollars — is necessary to improve safety, experience, customer service and accessibility for county employees and the public.

Iowa City’s study will begin this month and is expected to wrap up in October. The total cost is estimated at just under $100,000, which will be paid through the city’s facility reserve fund.

A construction budget for capital improvements has not been estimated by the city yet, according to the contract. OPN will provide a concept estimate to help with establishing a construction budget.

More on the current building

The city’s 2012 municipal facilities study that evaluated 23 major facilities listed the police department and downtown fire station as the highest priority for space shortage, Morris said. Morris added both departments have currently “maxed out physical space and include substandard work environments for staff.”

The 2012 study recommended performing a detailed analysis of the City Hall complex. The work with OPN will provide this update and is part of the city’s strategic plan.

The City Hall building, located at 410 E Washington St., was built in 1957 and originally only housed the city’s first fire station, Morris said.

The building was expanded to add the police station and city hall complex through various additions in 1959, 1964, 1989, 1992 and 1999. These additions were all within the primary property site.

Study has three main objectives

The contract with OPN architects outlines three main components: a space analysis and concept design; future location for the police department; and a potential new building for the Housing Authority of Neighborhood and Development services in collaboration with Johnson County.

The various concept designs will explore options for remodeling and modifying the existing building to accommodate future needs. Recommendations from the study could include relocating city departments, Morris said.

The study will look to resolve space and building deficiencies, as well as improve operations and collaboration.

“The intent of the project is to promote high performance governance with innovative public engagement, safe and healthy workspaces,” Morris said.

The study will analyze the possibility of relocating the police department to a stand-alone facility, which would allow fire and the other city departments to grow into the vacated space.

The study will take a high-level look at the possibility of moving the police department to the old public works campus site on Riverside Drive at the intersection of Highways 1 and 6.

Comments: (319) 339-3155; izabela.zaluska@thegazette.com