By James Day
The new Silverton Civic Center, a years-long $19.5 million project, likely will not open until late April, city officials said.
Our Town participated in a tour of the building Feb. 15, along with project manager Jason Gottgetreu, the city’s community development director, new city manager Cory Misley and Luis Mendoza of Compass Project Solutions, which is providing consulting services on the construction.
The exterior of the building is virtually finished. The landscaping and storm water retention facilities are in place. The parking lot is finished, although electrical vehicle charging stations need to be added.
Inside it’s a different story, with a series of dominos that have yet to fall into place to bring the project closer to completion.
“Finishing the electric service components is a key element that is still being impacted by supply chain/equipment delivery issues,” Gottgetreu said in a post-tour email exchange.
Also, finishing off the inside of the building is required before the furniture, which has been ordered, can be installed.
Some other items of interest:
• At the east end of the building sits a huge generator that was delivered 60 weeks late … and was the wrong color.
• The city is using wood reclaimed from the old Eugene Field School – as well as a Douglas fir tree that had to be removed from the property – in several spots in the building, including the new council chambers on the second floor. Beams and other wooden components of the building use the innovative mass plywood panel technology.
• Employees will not completely fill the building once it opens. Some areas could be modified in the future should the city staff size increase.
• The new building is 26,000 square feet, a sizable increase from the 9,000 square feet in the current City Hall about a half mile south of the new building. The city staff has outgrown the old building, which also is seismically unsafe. The new building will house most city staff, with the main exception of Public Works. Most of the space will be used by the Silverton Police Department.
• The project is currently about 4% over its projected $14.75 million construction budget. The building originally was set to open in July of 2023, but it has experienced a steady stream of delays, including supply chain issues, work that had to be redone and even emails that went missing.
• The south end of the former Eugene Field property has been seeded but no other development has taken place. The area is slated for parks use, with work updating the city’s parks and recreation master plan to include the ultimate mix of amenities on the site.
