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City Hall Renovation Costing Taxpayers Almost $150 Million
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Apr 18, 2012
Modified Apr 18, 2012
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Apr 18, 2012
Modified Apr 18, 2012
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City Hall needs a new roof, and it's gonna cost you! Officials recently announced that renovation costs for City Hall's rehabilitation project, which has been underway since mid-2010, have skyrocketed to nearly $150 million. The cost was estimated at $60 million when the project, an attempt to fix the building's decaying 200 year old structure, was first proposed in 2007, but as anyone who's ever had their kitchen redone can attest to, that estimated cost is nothing more than a jumping-off point. Over the past few years, an unforeseen crumbling rooftop and last summer's earthquake (among other debilitating factors) have more than doubled the budget.
The increase in costs have been slowly climbing, with the estimated budget at $123.8 million a few months ago. Bloomberg authorized upping the renovation costs another $25 million two weeks ago when he was informed the concrete surrounding the rotunda wasn't holding up. "As anyone who has done repairs knows, fixing a roof is a costly but necessary endeavor," Julie Wood, a mayoral spokeswoman, told the Post.
In addition to rehabilitating the roof, the renovation project called for a new state-of-the-art sub basement where electrical and mechanical systems could be stored, as well as a new staircase, elevator and fire alarm system. In 2010, the City Council hearing room was renovated, moving council meetings to temporary offices across the street.
While the renovation is pricey, it did come with an unintended bonus. Right before the project started, archaeologists uncovered an 18th Century almshouse behind City Hall, a possible remnant of the building's original structure, along with hundreds of other artifacts that date back to before the Revolution.
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City hall
renovation
Rebecca Fishbein
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