[Durham INC] Durham Completes City Hall & Annex Renovation Project

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CITY OF DURHAM
Office of Public Affairs
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham, NC 27701

News Release


News Media Contact:
Amy Blalock
Sr. Public Affairs Specialist
(919) 560-4123 x 11253
(919) 475-7735 (cell)
Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov<mailto:Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov>
http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC
http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC
http://YouTube.com/CityofDurhamNC


For Immediate Release: September 28, 2015



Share!  #Durham completes months-long $6.5 million City Hall renovation project; http://bit.ly/1WteUew


Durham Completes City Hall & Annex Renovation Project
Outdoor Seating Area in New Mangum St. Plaza Now Open for Public & Employee Use

DURHAM, N.C. - Much-needed repairs to the Durham's City Hall and Annex are now complete, resulting in a building that improves comfort inside for the public and City of Durham employees, improves wayfinding for visitors, and creates a more visually appealing exterior.


The City's General Services Department<http://durhamnc.gov/733/General-Services> oversaw the almost year-long $6.5 million renovation project<http://durhamnc.gov/742/City-Hall-Exterior-Annex-Plaza>, which consisted of three major sub-projects: repair to the exterior of City Hall and Council Chambers to include replacement of the deteriorated gravel-and-concrete panel system, brick repairs to correct water infiltration, and removal and replacement of the monumental exterior staircase along Mangum Street; repair of the City Hall Annex Plaza deck to include waterproofing replacement and the existing concrete topping; and replacement of the failing chillers with energy-efficient modular chillers. The project also created a new outdoor seating area on Mangum Street Plaza for use by residents and employees.



According to Project Manager John Paces-Wiles with the City's General Services Department, while the project was at times noisy and took months to complete, the end result made it well worth the short-term annoyance of construction. "City Hall is City government's primary building, where so much of the public's business is conducted. In order to maintain this important physical asset, we had to make some much-needed repairs to this facility," Paces-Wiles said. "New metal panels and energy efficiency lighting have given a modern re-fresh for City Hall, which was originally constructed in 1975. In addition to addressing water infiltration issues and providing an improved air conditioning system for the building, the new exterior metal panels now create a more transparent façade, and new building signage will provide an easier-to-navigate exterior for our visitors."



While the heavy-duty construction work is now complete, over the coming weeks the City's contractor will be finishing up several projects, such as installation of new building signage, lighting of the new decorative fins above the new entrance canopies and large openings along City Hall Plaza as well as landscaping and installation of railings and bike racks.



According to Paces-Wiles, City staff and the construction team are eager for residents and visitors to come to City Hall and see for themselves all of the improvements made to such an important public building. "Now that this project is done, we hope people come downtown and check out their improved City Hall," Paces-Wiles said. "Our team worked diligently to deliver a building that will continue to serve our community for decades to come. City Hall is an important public building, and by undertaking this renovation, we have improved this community asset and helped achieve one of our Strategic Plan goals<http://nc-durham.civicplus.com/1499/Stewardship-of-Physical-and-Environmenta>."



This $6.5 million construction project, funded through Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funds, was completed by Balfour Beatty Construction<http://www.balfourbeattyus.com/About-Us/Locations/Raleigh> and designed by RND Architects<http://rndpa.com/>. The project was close to finishing on time and on budget. An additional 43 days were needed to finish the project in addition to $178,000 added to the construction budget to cover unforeseen conditions and to add accent lighting at the Council Chambers.


About the General Services Department
The City of Durham General Services Department<http://durhamnc.gov/733/General-Services> creates, manages and maintains City properties to provide best value to the Durham community. The core business functions include: Administration/Business Services, Facilities Operations, Landscape Services, Urban Forestry, Real Estate, Project Management, Cemeteries, and Keep Durham Beautiful. As guided by the City's Strategic Plan<http://durhamnc.gov/183/Strategic-Plan>, General Services serves as a steward of the City's physical and environmental assets. Through annual and long-range facility planning activities, the department plans, provides, and maintains the City's facilities infrastructure, which supports the community's quality of life and serves as a foundation of a healthy economy.

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