North Liberty breaks ground on new City Hall

NORTH LIBERTY — North Liberty is preparing to move into its “forever home” as construction on a new City Hall building begins.

The $9.4 million building at 360 Main St. will be home to administrative offices, City Council chambers, community space and a plaza. Construction is expected to be done by April 2024.

This will be the fourth and final location for City Hall, creating a civic campus in the original part of town that has been years in the making. The new City Hall will be next to the city’s fire department and police department.

“This moment captures 15 years of a journey of a lot of moves and a lot of progress,” Mayor Chris Hoffman said during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday.

Hoffman noted how quickly the city has been growing. North Liberty has grown 53 percent over the last decade — from 13,374 in 2010 to 20,479 residents in 2020, according to census numbers.

Hoffman said the new City Hall “will be a centerpiece of what we’ve envisioned our community will grow into.”

“It will connect our shared past with our collective futures,” Hoffman said.

The City Council in 2007 appointed a committee to help develop a comprehensive facilities plan. This plan identified about a dozen building projects to work on over the next 15 years.

City Administrator Ryan Heiar said the city has come a long way since that plan was approved. The two projects remaining are the City Hall building and a second fire station.

“To say that we're excited this morning to be moving forward with a plan that was developed a better part of two decades ago is an understatement,” Heiar said.

For more than a decade, the city has been operating out of leased space at Quail Creek Circle off Highway 965, where city offices are divided between two buildings. This current location is City Hall’s third.

In February 2021, the council approved a contract with Shive-Hattery for design construction and administrative services. Later that year, preliminary designs were presented and the city began moving forward with a final design.

The city received six bids last month. The council awarded the bid to City Construction of Iowa City at nearly $9.4 million.

Matt Toth of City Construction said this is a project the company identified early on as something it wanted to work on.

“We can't wait to be a part of this project and see this awesome building come to life over the next 18 months,” Toth said at the groundbreaking.

The council has the authority to borrow $9 million for the project. City staff is recommending the council proceed with action that will allow the city to borrow up to an additional $500,000 for the project.

Funding sources would include utility capital funds and the general fund surplus, Heiar told the council last month.

Hoffman said he hopes the new City Hall will inspire residents. It will be a space for public events and where community members can connect with one another, he said.

“Today, we're breaking ground on our forever home,” Hoffman said.

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