Glendale staff confirm May 18 move‑in for new City Hall; ribbon cutting planned June 18 with time capsule set for 2060

City staff updated the Glendale City Council on April 28 on progress at the Downtown Campus Reinvestment Project, saying construction and landscaping have advanced enough to allow department move‑in on May 18, 2026 and a celebratory ribbon cutting on June 18.

Eddie Garcia, speaking for the DCRP team, said much of the hardscape work is complete, the amphitheater lawn has been sodded and the stage slab is in place. "We're getting ready to occupy the building for May 18th," Garcia said, describing the plan for a temporary certificate of occupancy that would allow departments to start operations before all finish work—including chamber punch‑list items and owner‑provided amphitheater technology—are complete.

Deputy City Manager Thomas Atkins walked council through the planned events for the opening, including a morning ribbon‑cutting that will use the council chambers and amphitheater and a community celebration on June 20 that staff said would include music, food trucks and a drone show. Atkins also proposed installing a new time capsule during the June 18 event with a planned opening date of June 18, 2060; staff said the city will add a plaque to mark the capsule's location and intends to reinstall the 1985 capsule adjacent to the new one, not inside it.

Staff described how the May 18 public access will be staged: much of the campus will be available to employees and the public, but the amphitheater and certain garden‑level areas (notably the gazebo) will remain cordoned off until contractors complete punch‑list work and the turf has time to establish. The chambers will be reserved for finishing work until the council's first scheduled meeting in the renovated chambers in August.

Other near‑term tasks on the punch list include installing an owner‑provided audio/lighting package in the amphitheater, constructing a solid‑waste enclosure at the garden level of the parking garage to enable compactor access without driving through the garage, and replacing a topping slab over a tunnel to address water infiltration. Staff also reported ongoing mechanical work at the Velma Teague Library, including chiller replacements that will carry into the summer.

Staff provided council with visual progress updates and a site diagram showing which areas will be accessible on move‑in day and which will remain protected. Council asked for clarity about plaque wording and the disposition of the 1985 time capsule; staff said they will work with the clerk's office and council to confirm plaque language and to present a plan for preserving and displaying the artifacts from the prior capsule.

Next steps: staff will proceed with the May 18 staged move‑in plan, continue finishing work in chambers through June, and return to council with any outstanding scheduling or permitting details needed before full project closeout and issuance of the final certificate of occupancy.