$4M building to help centralize city operations
Dublin City Hall could be moving a half-mile or so across Coffman Park.
The Dublin City Council is set to vote Monday on the $4 million purchase of an office building at 5555 Perimeter Drive, located along Emerald Parkway and just northwest of Interstate 270.
The long-term goal is to create a centralized municipal complex at the southwestern corner of Coffman Park, including possible construction of two new buildings. Employees from the current city hall at 5200 Emerald Parkway and the Department of Development at 5800 Shier Rings Road would relocate, according to a memo from Donna Goss, the city’s development director.
Consolidating administrative offices will enhance operating efficiency and improve public meeting space, Moss said in the memo.
“This is an investment in Dublin’s future,” she said.
The 20,000-square-foot, energy-efficient building once served as headquarters of Delta Energy Inc., which moved into the specially designed facility in 2011. It cost $5.2 million to build.
It became available after a California-based public utility holding company, Edison International, acquired Delta Energy Inc. last year. A technology company, LeadingEDJE, is currently renting space in the facility.
Delta Energy owner Sheri Tackett couldn’t be reached to comment Thursday.
If Dublin officials go forward with the deal and construct two new buildings, one would be an annex to the building they hope to purchase. That would provide city council chambers and additional meeting space, according to Moss’ memo.
Development, planning, building standards and information technology employees would occupy the second planned building, a new build.
The city already owns nearly all land adjacent to 5555 Perimeter Drive, including a vacant site north of the nearby Dublin Justice Center, where a new building could go. The center received $10.6 million in improvements last year, including a 16,000-squarefoot expansion.
No cost estimates were available for the proposed council chambers annex and the new build. Timing of moves and renovations also hasn’t been determined.
A final phase of the plan would be repurposing the existing city hall for the city’s recreation employees, to open programming space in the community center, located on the north end of Coffman Park. Other recreational programs could take place in the 18,000-square-foot facility, too.
The 30,000-square-foot Department of Development building at 5800 Shier Rings Road, located south of Route 33, would likely be sold, with the proceeds helping to offset the cost of purchasing the Delta Energy Inc. building.