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Staff recommends demolition path after structural review of City of Palms Park
Summary
Engineering review offered two selective‑demo options but staff said full demolition is likely less costly and more developer‑friendly; council directed staff to pursue further appraisal, salvage options and return with formal vote language.
City staff presented a structural assessment of City of Palms Park that outlined two selective-demolition alternatives and trade-offs, and several council members said complete demolition with targeted salvage appears preferable for redevelopment.
John Leggy, assistant city manager, summarized an engineer’s two options for selective demolition and flagged reconstruction needs where interior elements would be exposed. He said staff located original drawings and that the engineer estimated the replacement‑cost and selective‑demo considerations but did not provide a construction-cost estimate within the assessment scope. Leggy said the city and the CRA each had about $500,000 budgeted and that a full demolition estimate had been discussed at roughly $1,000,000.
“There's additional cost to reconstruct the walls along the press box and the end walls,” Leggy said, describing why selective demo can be complex and potentially more expensive than full removal. Councilors pressed whether salvaging bricks, seating and decorative elements could be staged for developers to reuse; Leggy said staff had already begun pulling salvageable objects for reuse and noted some seating elements might be removable and sold or reused elsewhere.
Council discussion centered on whether partial demolition would leave exposed walls, require costly MEP (mechanical/electrical/plumbing) adjustments, complicate developer site plans and reduce available acreage for future projects. One council member noted prior votes on the stadium's future and urged clarity to avoid repeating prior cycles. Several members favored a full demolition approach but acknowledged a formal vote would be required to proceed.
What’s next: staff will return with a formal motion for council consideration and pursue salvage options and solicit demolition proposals; councilors signaled interest in completing demolition within the year but recognized a formal vote was required.
