City Hall Project

City government has been operating in multiple building locations for more than 30 years. The current city hall is the former Sears Department Store. When it became our city hall in 1974, it was intended to be for a temporary period. For decades, there have been community conversations and proposals for the construction of a more appropriate building for city hall.

In November 1999, a team of architectural professionals was hired to study the existing 1867 City Hall and 1903 Turner building. They were asked to determine how suitable the buildings would be for adaptive re-use. The architects compared the costs of adaptive re-use versus demolition and new construction. They presented their findings that showed adaptive re-use was cheaper per square foot than new construction. It was at this time that the community sent a clear message to city leaders that Elyria’s historic city hall should be saved.

Based on the professional evaluations of the architects, the City pursued the adaptive re-use of the old city hall and the Turner building. It later became clear that the architects did not properly assess the conditions and challenges presented by this project. Problems with the structural integrity of the old city hall walls have caused delays and increased costs for the project. As a result of their professional negligence, the City is seeking monetary compensation for their
"errors and omissions". The City will hold the architects accountable and demand that they and their insurance companies pay for every penny of added costs associated with their errors.

Additional construction experts have been hired by the initial contractor, the architect and the City. The experts have collectively decided upon an appropriate remedy for the setbacks caused by the architects’ negligence. A new contractor was hired and construction has resumed. The project is set to be completed this spring. When completed next year, it will be a special achievement and source of pride for all Elyrians. In addition, it will provide an efficient and proper place for city government to operate.