Despite the morning’s rain, wind, and chill, Huntsville City Hall became the site of celebration as Mayor Tommy Battle welcomed the media, Council members, and other dignitaries to witness the beginning of the next chapter of the city’s history on Monday morning.

The official groundbreaking was held at the site of the future municipal complex across the street from the present City Hall on Fountain Circle. Along with Mayor Battle, speakers at the event included Jeffrey Brewer, CEO of Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC); Turner Construction Business Manager Brendan McCormick; City Administrator John Hamilton; Huntsville City Director of Finance Penny Smith; and Director of City Engineering Kathy Martin.

On a rainy morning, Huntsville City Mayor Tommy Battle addresses a crowd before the official groundbreaking of the new Huntsville City Hall

“The decision to build a new municipal complex was not an easy one,” said Mayor Battle, who stated that they were very fond of the old building, which has served the city since the 1960s.

Battle noted that the existing facility has reached the end of its structural life. “The reason we stand here is we need a new City Hall. We’ve gone through the process of getting ready, and we’ve realized that our rapidly growing city needs a building that is more functional, more cost efficient, and will give us room to grow,” he said.

“A City Hall that will better serve our residents and businesses and one that will remain in the heart of downtown, but also that will be a point of pride for our community,” Battle continued.

When it opens in about two years, the new municipal building will be 2 ½ times larger than the present City Hall, allowing all of the city’s departments to operate together under one roof. “It will allow us to work more efficiently, make offices more convenient for residents to access, and more importantly, it will be a far better use of taxpayer dollars,” Battle explained.

Jeffrey Brewer of Goodwyn Mills Cawood joked that “A couple of years from now it’s going to be a sunny day” when the ribbon is cut on the new facility.

“For the first time, the city will have a facility that matches the caliber of services it provides to the community,” he said. “We couldn’t be more excited and look forward to seeing you at the ribbon cutting.”

“We recognize that projects like this don’t come along very often, so like many of you we’re very grateful to be part of the teams that have come together to put this project in place and forever change the skyline of Downtown Huntsville,” stated Brendan McCormick of Turner Construction.

“This project demonstrates the continued collaboration between the City of Huntsville and Turner Construction, along with the talented team at Goodwyn Mills Cawood,” McCormick said. “It demonstrates the dynamic leadership from the City of Huntsville, shifting to meet the needs of a growing City, and it represents a legacy for Turner, building in the City we’ve called home since the 1950s.”

Mayor Battle then invited Smith and Martin to discuss the changes the new facility will bring to their teams.

In addition to being able to leave the frustrations of leaks, rodent infestations, and climate control issues behind, Smith expressed excitement about finally being able to bring her whole team together.

“I am most looking forward to the day when all of Finance will be on the same floor. Right now we have approximately 35 people spread across four floors in City Hall. This makes collaboration and coordination at work very difficult,” Smith explained. “While all the people are free to move around from office to office, it’s a big difference in how you interact with somebody, understand their work, and work alongside somebody that’s on the same floor as opposed to somebody on a different floor.”

City Administrator John Hamilton recognized the great effort that went into the planning of the future City Hall, stating that while Mayor Battle had said that it would serve the City for decades, they expect it to serve Huntsville for “seven, eight, nine, ten decades into the future…you can’t stand here today and say that and genuinely believe it without the effort that’s gone into the planning and the design of this facility.”

Hamilton emphasized the planning that went into ensuring that the facility was designed with the capacity for growth and change over time. “That’s a challenging thing to do, when you ask a department head to think about not just their tenure and not just about their replacement’s tenure, but their replacement’s replacement,” he said. “I’m just really impressed with the effort that they put into it.”

Hamilton also recognized City Hall’s partnership with Arts Huntsville, discussing how they will help create an “iconic facility downtown” through the introduction of art projects. “At the ribbon cutting, we’ll also be unveiling some really cool world-class pieces of art that we hope represents our community and brings people together.”

Just prior to the ceremonial groundbreaking, Mayor Battle announced the future plans for the existing City Hall once the new facility opens. Although the downtown master plan originally proposed a mixed-use facility with hotel, office, and residential spaces, “we gave serious consideration to those options, but we decided to go in a different direction.”

“Today I’m pleased to announce that I’m going to be recommending to our Council that we return this property to our community and make it part of the Big Spring Park,” Mayor Battle said.

“With the growth we’re experiencing downtown, we need more places to play,” he continued. “This two-and-a-half acre site will be used to expand the park and provide more public space for everyone to enjoy.”

Mayor Battle said that his administrative team has begun discussing ideas on how to shape the new addition to Big Spring Park and will be holding public meetings to solicit input from residents regarding their thoughts and ideas on the park plan. “I imagine we’ll get lots of public input–I know our people in the City of Huntsville, and we look forward to having those conversations, because when we have those conversations we make sure we get it right, just like we did with this building here.

Images provided by Dawn Suiter.