After decades of discussion on the future of City Hall, on April 4, 2018 the Common Council voted unanimously to renovate and improve the functionality of the existing building for the benefit of the public and city staff. They concurred with the plan recommended by the Building Use Committee to stay in the current building and implement a more efficient floor plan with a new entrance plaza and off-street parking north of the building. The City Hall renovation will include a new HVAC system, new windows, a new elevator, a new roof, new flooring, and tuck pointing. The total cost budgeted for the City Hall project is $10.5 million.
The original City Hall was built by the Immel Construction Company at a cost of $150,000. The finished building was turned over to Sheboygan Mayor Otto Joerens and dedicated on January 27, 1917. It was designed by Architect H.W. Buemming with W.C. Weeks as associate architect. The building is 150 feet 5 inches long, 56 feet 8 inches in width, and three stories in height (excluding the basement). The outside walls are constructed of brick, lined with hollow tile, and faced with Western Colonial brick.
The City Hall renovation that begins on June 1, 2018 requires all departments to move to alternate locations for the anticipated 16-month construction period. Two office locations have been secured to accommodate all City Hall Departments: the former Social Security Administration office at 606 North 9th Street and the former Sheboygan County Highway Department office at 1211 North 23rd Street.
The former Social Security Administration office is across the street from City Hall and the departments that provide the majority of citizen contact will be in this building. The first departments moving to this location on Thursday, April 26 are Planning and Development, Building Inspection, and the Finance Department Payments Clerk. The City Clerk’s Office will move in on Monday, May 7. Please note that each department will be closed to the public on the day of their move.
The remaining City Hall departments will be moving to the former Sheboygan County Highway Department office on North 23rd Street just south of the Sheboygan Police Department. Minor building modifications will include interior wall construction, electrical work, and technology infrastructure. The departments of Human Resources, Assessor, Information Technology, Finance, City Attorney, Administrator, and Mayor will move on May 29, 30, and 31.
During the construction period, the meetings of City committees will be relocated to meeting rooms at the Mead Public Library (710 North 8th Street) and the Municipal Services Building (2026 New Jersey Avenue). The Common Council meetings will take place at the Sheboygan County Board Chambers on the fifth floor of the Sheboygan County Courthouse (615 North 6th Street). We appreciate the assistance of Sheboygan County and the Mead Public Library for the use of these meeting rooms during the City Hall renovation.
The Sheboygan Public Works Department staff has taken a lead role in developing a relocation plan. As you can imagine, there are a lot of details to be considered and coordinated. Each department head and elected official who has offices in City Hall has been involved in the relocation planning process. Between now and the move of the last department to our temporary locations, weekly meetings will be held to work on the details and the timeline. Each department has been asked to assign a moving coordinator to assist in the process.
Congratulations to all involved in making this project ready for implementation. Important work was done by staff with the assistance of Bray Associates Architects to develop efficient floor plans, identify furnishing and technology needs, improve public accessibility, manage the architectural process, develop a realistic budget, identify temporary office sites and, finally, determine how to pay for the project.
The City Hall building will be turned over to Quasius Construction on June 1 for construction to commence. We anticipate that all City departments will be able to move back to City Hall in October 2019.
