When the Fishers City Council was briefed on plans for a new City Hall Monday night, I noticed something interesting about the rendering shown above. The sign at the front of the building says “Arts and Municipal Complex.” The words City Hall are not there.
In a podcast recorded Monday morning, Mayor Scott Fadness said, ““This is going to be an arts center with a few offices above it.” Thus, the word “Arts” precedes the reference to “Municipal Complex.”
That is the vision for the new structure explained to council members. Architect Jeremy Welu, a partner and co-founder of DELV Design, reviewed several renderings of what the finished product will look like once completed in March of 2024.
Welu described the breezeway between the 250 seat auditorium and the part of the building that will house city officials and staff. The entire first floor will be dedicated to the arts.
When questioned about any supply-chain issues in obtaining needed material for construction, Kevin McGovern of Meyer-Najem said the plans contain contingencies built into the project just in case such issues arise.
The current City Hall is sinking, according to engineering studies, and the cost of keeping the current structure afloat would be prohibitive over time, says Mayor Fadness. As a result, plans were launched last year to put together plans for a new center of Fishers City government.
Just don’t call it a City Hall.
Here are more artist renderings of the complex:
Just read on Indystar.com this morning that COVID-19 funds are being used to partially fund this project. That’s a bit unsettling, to say the least! This project has been in the works for years. I’m curious how it qualifies for COVID funds?
It is allowed by the latest U.S. Treasury Dept. regulations on how ARP money can be spent…I wrote about this in a story posted April 13 https://www.larryinfishers.com/finance-panel-gets-early-look-at-designs-for-new-fishers-city-hall/