ANNA (March 19, 2019) The planned construction of a new municipal complex in Anna came into clearer focus as the City Council was briefed on the proposed campus this month by Randall Scott, Founding Principal of Randall Scott Architects, Inc.
Site of the new complex is an entire City block bound by S. Powell Pkwy. (Hwy 5) on the west, S. Riggins St. on the east, Fifth St. on the north and Seventh St. on the south. The site has been generally cleared, except for the City’s Fire Station and a private steel company. Negotiations on acquiring the remaining privately-held land are nearing completion.
The impending construction includes a new Fire Station and a combined City Hall and Police Headquarters along with adequate parking spaces and landscaping that sets the new municipal complex within a park-like setting.
The free-standing Fire Station is sited on the northwest end of the complex, with easy access to both S. Powell Pkwy. and Fifth St. It has a four-truck double drive-through bay, capable of accommodating any size emergency vehicles with appropriate space for supplies and storage. Training, meeting, exercise, sleeping and living quarters are all included, making the Fire Station a full-service emergency response facility for both fire and medical contingencies.
A mezzanine level over the vehicle bays is designed to accommodate the height of the trucks and will include storage and mechanical areas. The Chief’s glass-walled conference room is designed to call to mind a silo, with expansive views of the exterior’s north and east facing areas.
The combined City Hall and Police Station building is two floors in height, with the first floor’s west side accommodating Council Chambers, Utility Billing, Municipal Court, Development Services and various conference and meeting rooms. The east side of the first floor is devoted exclusively to the Police Department, which includes offices, patrol, criminal investigators, conference rooms, evidence and storage spaces, locker rooms and other support facilities.
The building’s second floor will accommodate the City Manager’s office suite, IT, Finance, Human Resources and the City Secretary. Various meeting, training and conference rooms will also occupy portions of the second floor.
Verandas and outdoor break areas on the top floor reveal vistas to the City’s future downtown redevelopment to the north and will serve as future expansion for the building as the City grows.
The main entrance to City Hall will be on the south with an exterior design that includes fritted glass, anodized copper and brushed aluminum panels; a theme that will encompass the entire structure’s exterior. Subtle water features in the form of soft waterfalls and pools will greet visitors entering the building’s south and north ends.
The north exterior will feature a distinctive fan-shaped facade with overlapping sheets of fritted glass covering the entire two-story Council Chambers, giving the building a glass shard look, the shards reaching upward metaphorically toward a higher purpose of governance for the people.
Cost of the 36,184 sq. ft. City Hall, which includes the 7,100 sq. ft. Police Station and the 14,800 sq. ft. Fire Station is around $25M. Construction is anticipated to last about 16 months and is expected to start this summer.