By James Day
The plan to build a new Civic Center complex in Silverton has moved another step forward.
The city has issued a request for proposals from architectural design firms who want to participate in the project. Firms were required to attend a pre-submission meeting Tuesday, Feb. 11, with the final deadline for proposals set for Feb. 26.
Silverton is planning to build the new civic complex on 3.46 acres that once was occupied by Eugene Field School. The school closed in the spring of 2016 and was demolished last February.
The city is planning a two-phase project that would start with the police station and add a city hall in a second phase. The current police/city hall building a few blocks away on South Water Street was built in 1925 and is not seismically safe.
The fiscal year 2018-19 city budget for the project was $1,056,386, which paid for hazardous material abatement and the razing of the structure. A total of $731,931 is being spent in the 2019-20 budget on preliminary conceptual planning, a space needs analysis and architectural design.
Silverton City Manager Christy Wurster said the city hopes to complete construction of the police facility during the 2021-22 budget year, with the new city hall approximately five years after that. The timetables are dependent on securing funding for the project,
she said.
