New Citrus Heights city hall to open Aug. 9; tours planned

Updated July 29, 9:03 a.m.–
After just over a year of construction, the new 35,000-square-foot city hall in Citrus Heights is scheduled to open for business on Aug. 9, with a public dedication ceremony on Aug. 25.

Mayor Jeannie Bruins called the new hall a great accomplishment for the City, highlighting that the $22 million building was constructed without incurring any debt. “It’s a valuable amenity for the community and a great way to usher in our 20-year anniversary in 2017,” she said in an email to The Sentinel Tuesday.

The project was unanimously approved by the city council last March and began construction several months later in July. The entire project will end on track with the original estimated timeline of 12 to 14 months to complete and will also remain on or below budget, according to Monica Alejandrez, assistant to the city manager.

Alejandrez said furniture is currently being moved in to the new building, with major items still to be completed including exterior painting and tile work, additional landscaping and paving, and a fountain in the front plaza. She said about 65 city staff will be housed in the new building, most of whom have been “squeezed” into a temporary city hall location on Auburn Boulevard for the past year.

“We’re really looking forward to working in the new facility to serve the community properly and efficiently,” said Alejandrez. “We just have a lot of pride with this building and what it will do for the community.”

The project was overseen by Capital Partners Development Co. and features a 4,000-square-foot utility yard on the 10.9 acre parcel, located next to the the post office on Fountain Square Drive.

[Related: Drawing shows what new city hall will look like when complete]

Mayor Bruins called the new hall’s design “customer-friendly” and said the building was designed for energy efficiency, with LEED Gold certification. She said a time capsule will be embedded in the new council chambers that will be opened on the 50th anniversary of the city in the year 2047.

The mayor also said she was “especially pleased” that outgoing City Manager Henry Tingle would be able to work in the new hall before his retirement later this year on Sept. 30. She said Tingle’s vision “has carried our city forward for 18 years” and said one of the goals he sought to accomplish prior to retirement was to build a new city hall.

[Related: Citrus Heights city manager announces plans to retire]

During the transition to the new building, city hall’s temporary location at 7927 Auburn Blvd. will be closed on Friday, Aug. 5, and Monday, Aug. 8. City hall will then re-open for business on Aug. 9 at noon, according to a posting on the City’s website.

Dedication & public tours

A dedication outside the new city hall will be held at 9 a.m. on Aug. 25, which Alejandrez said will feature a “short but sweet” ceremony with speeches from the mayor and city leaders. She said the community is invited to the dedication, as well as area dignitaries and staff from other cities.

Public tours of the new hall will be held after the ceremony, with city hall opening at noon for regular business on the 25th.

The new hall is part of a larger $53.2 million project approved by city council members last March, which includes a new three-story Dignity Health medical office building in place of the old city hall at the corner of Fountain Square Drive and Greenback Lane. According to the city manager’s office, the medical building will generate $6.9 million in lease payments to the city over the next 15 years.

Alejandrez said the Dignity Health building is expected to break ground next month — although the date has been moved several times. The project will be overseen by Panattoni Development Co. and is estimated to take 18 to 24 months to complete, once construction begins.

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