Officials moving into 24M municipal complex

If you are craving that new government building smell, Johns Creek is moving to its new municipal complex later this month.

When it opens March 25 at 11360 Lakefield Drive, the only city departments missing from the new building will be the municipal court and the police department; those agencies will move from 11445 Johns Creek Parkway later this spring. Be aware that some city meetings will be held at the older building there until June.

The City Council approved $24 million of funding — $10 million to buy the 75,000-square-foot building and $14 million for renovations and a 16,000-squarefoot expansion — for the project, which will consolidate city hall and other agencies such as the city clerk, fire department, human resources, parks and recreation and community development.

Future plans for the new three-story building, which sits on 26 acres of land in Technology Park, include a linear park near a lake. The office park area is where city leaders have said they want a dense district featuring retail, office, res- idential and entertainment options. Officials said that would help the young city become less dependent on property taxes, which they feel isn’t sustainable for the city budget.

Johns Creek, which incorporated in 2006, has an estimated population of about 85,000 residents.

“This will be one of the most significant moves we have made in the city’s 10 years of existence,” Mayor Mike Bodker said in December 2016 of the municipal complex plan, “and one that we believe can propel us to even greater heights in terms of service to the residents of Johns Creek.”

Johns Creek claims on its website that this consolidated facility will “ultimately save taxpayer funds” but didn’t specify how.

According to Fulton County records, the building was built in 1997 and Johns Creek bought it from the Georgia Municipal Association in February 2017. City hall moved into temporary digs at 10700 Abbotts Bridge Road in September 2017.

On Friday, the city posted a video on YouTube showing sweeping drone footage, construction time lapse photos, and a look at workers piecing together the building.

CONTRIBUTED A bird’s-eye view shows Johns Creek’s new $24 million municipal government building while it was under construction at 11360 Lakefield Drive. Most city departments are to move in and be open for business by March 25.