The Fate of The City of Boca Raton’s Town Hall
By: Stephanie Fonseca
Today at the strategic city planning meeting, city council members questioned the fate of the city of Boca Raton’s Town Hall.
The city of Boca Raton is growing and in order for the city to continue to run smoothly more staff is going to have to be hired. With the necessary staff increase, Boca Raton is growing out of their current location. But size and capacity was not the only issue, the dated building with its duct taped carpet floors and 10 year old chairs, the city council fears that the space that they are in now is not reflecting the city’s image.
However, due to the known fact by city officials that the facility needs exceed the space that City Hall is in now, there might be a relocation of Boca Raton’s City Hall.
Although some city council members made it a point that a good location for the new City Hall Campus to be in the vicinity of the Spanish River Library, Mayor, Susan Haynie, along with Scott Singer had a different idea.
Mayor Haynie and Singer, proposed to keep City Hall closer to the location they are at today and closer to the downtown area.
Singer observed that the baseball fields and tennis courts by City Hall aren’t being used as much and with the acreage that they have at that location, it would be a good idea to repurpose the field locations as the new campus. At that location they would be able to incorporate more green space and getting the most use out of the location.
Mayor Haynie, added that by keeping the campus there, they would be able to incorporate the needed parking space for the new city hall, where a multipurpose parking garage would allow parking for those working in City Hall and for residents who want to enjoy the “soon to be” walkable downtown.
City Council members all agreed that the new location has to be inviting and reflect the excellence of the city with more green concepts and inviting factors. And they agreed that as they incorporate the departments into one location for City Hall, the city campus should be a least 250,000 sq. ft.
“We have an aging plant and we need to update it,” said City Council member Robert Weinroth.
Plans for a consultant to evaluate the location of City Hall and to determine the facilities needs are underway. The time frame for the consultation should be 3 to 6 months.
