CARLSBAD — For years, the City Council has identified a new City Hall among its goals and pressing needs.
During its Aug. 16 meeting, the council approved the next steps of constructing a new building, albeit with some modifications due to recent work routines from the pandemic that have changed how employees work.
A “hybrid” option was agreed upon, and the location of the new City Hall will remain on Pio Pico Drive, adjacent to the Cole Library. The estimated project cost is between $50 million to $60 million for a 40,000-square foot building with plans for remodeling the library.
“Since the 2019 space needs assessment, a lot has changed,” said Gary Barberio, a deputy city manager. “It is clear the city’s space needs have dramatically decreased. We have software for (remote) meetings, the effectiveness of telecommuting and more efficient space planning in existing facilities.”
In 2016 the council set its goal to construct a new City Hall and Civic Center. However, plans for the center have been scrubbed due to costs and space constraints, Barberio said. Staff identified four sites — the current location, Pine Park Senior Center, the Faraday Administration Center and the Farmers building on the corner of El Camino Real and Faraday Avenue.
As for the new City Hall, funding will come from the Community Facilities District No. 1 fund, which collects development impact fees from developers, he said. Money can only be used to construct facilities, and one of the uses is for a new City Hall. The fund currently has up to $133 million.
In its ideal scenario, the city would break ground on the new City Hall by 2025.
As for the library, preliminary plans estimate a 35,000-square foot building, Barberio said, with an early cost projection between $22 million to $26 million.
The others include a new Public Works storage facility, Veterans Park, and the library remodel.
Some residents, though, have lobbied for City Hall to be moved to a more “central” location so it is accessible to more residents. However, the Faraday site was viable if the city could buy an adjacent property, but the owner is unwilling to sell.
“I’ve heard from people, as the representative from District 4, that the location is so far north, although I understand the history,” Councilwoman Teresa Acosta said. “The Faraday center is one of the two more central locations. Maintaining the two locations does satisfy that centrality.”
The Farmers building, meanwhile, is unusable due to asbestos and deferred estimates were at least $12 million as of 2019, according to Curtis Jackson, the city’s real estate manager. So, the staff opted to present the hybrid, where a new City Hall will consolidate some employees, keep most of Faraday’s current operations and sell the Farmers building.
Revenue from the sale of the Farmers building must be allocated back to the Community Facilities District No. 1 fund, Barberio said.
“We’ve been talking about it for about 25 years ago,” Councilman Peder Norby said of the new City Hall. “We’re seeing costs go up. Using the building is better than having it vacant for 20 years.”
