Greenville City Council approves $3 million to hire architects for City Hall redesign

The Greenville City Council approved a $3,000,000 appropriation from the Capital Project Reserve Fund to pay DP 3 architects to reimagine Greenville City Hall, Henry Coburn said at the meeting.

"City council approved the appropriation of $3,000,000 from the Capital Project Reserve Fund to pay DP 3 architects to reimagine a city hall that better serves employees and residents," Coburn said, announcing the funding and the design contract payment.

The renovation will retain existing departments on the first six floors while updating the top four floors for future growth, Coburn said. He also said the current parking lot at the back of the building on the first floor will be transformed into a new, more accessible city council chambers, relocating the public meeting hall from the 10th floor to street level.

A committee member who spoke in the meeting framed the project as overdue and emphasized public access and civic presence. "I think it's just long overdue that we have a place that really takes its place in the Greenville skyline," the committee member said, adding that the current arrangement—"so we ask people to get into an elevator and go up 10 floors"—is "not a good way to engage with the public." The committee member said the lobby and footprint will be larger and more welcoming.

A presenter involved in the design work stressed that public engagement and the building's relationship to the street are important design goals. "That public engagement is really a big part of it, how the building hits the street and becomes a part of the fabric of mainstream," the presenter said.

Coburn identified Reeves Young as the contractor on record and noted the firm's portfolio includes the Greenville Transit Authority maintenance and operations center. He added that architects have completed a 3-D scan of City Hall to map the building's infrastructure and that the first renderings will be shown at an April project preview meeting and at the May design review board meeting.

Construction is expected to begin early next year and take about 18 months to complete, Coburn said. "For the City of Greenville, I'm Henry Coburn," he concluded.

The appropriation funds design work and up-front services; the project will proceed through the advertised review and permitting process before construction begins, with public review opportunities scheduled in April and May.