Lake Elmo reviews options for Old City Hall; council asks staff to explore leasing and partnership before demolition

Community Development Director Stopa presented the Lake Elmo City Council workshop with six options for the city‑owned Old City Hall property, describing the building, condition, maintenance costs and constraints and asking the council for direction on next steps.

The Old City Hall, built in 1986, is a single‑story, wood‑frame building of about 2,800 square feet on approximately 1.5 acres, Stopa said. The building has been mostly vacant since the city moved to a new City Hall in 2023; it is occasionally used for meetings. Stopa cited a 2017 space‑needs study attached to the workshop packet that listed roughly $862,000 in short‑term repair needs, about $80,000 in mid‑term items and about $38,000 in long‑term items; the study and staff observations identified exterior‑envelope and parking‑surface needs among the largest short‑term costs. Stopa also said insurance for the vacant building has risen to just under $7,000 annually and utility costs run under $2,000 a year.

Why it matters: The property is 1.5 acres in the…