Work moves forward on new Stockton City Hall as current building nears 100 years old
STOCKTON – Work is moving forward on a new city hall in Stockton as the current building is almost 100 years old and doesn't have enough room for all the city departments.
It's a move seven years in the making and is still ongoing.
The city of Stockton approved their move from the original city hall built in 1926 to this five-story building on Weber Avenue.
"She's only 100 years old. Definitely, a move is warranted," said Chad Reed, the director of public works for the city of Stockton. "We have some of the mechanical systems in the building that are challenging when you think about heating and elevators and just the age of the building."
Back in 2017, the city purchased the new building. In 2022, renovations started after it was approved by the council to make this the new city hall.
So why is the renovation taking this long for the move?
"COVID changed our world and so in 2022 when you're issuing a construction contract we had huge supply chain issues," Reed said.
This brought the price up for labor and equipment when supply was low. But the goal to move every city department into one building, Reed said, could offset future costs.
"To be able to house multiple departments, it's really not a bad price tag," Reed said.
The total price tag was over $70 million.
"When you're looking at design and building purchase, you're looking at over $70 million. You pay 540 a square foot to remodel versus 1,200 plus to buy new, so definitely savings to the taxpayer," Reed said.
And while the cracks on the old 100-year-old building show, construction continues.
"They do see the ease of business. They see more technology and their hard-earned money put into another facility that is going to last another 100 years," Reed said.
