Plans for a new City Hall building have moved into a second design phase, after officials approved a preliminary design package and dedicated a five-month process to fleshing out further details.
The City of Arcadia has contracted with Gonzalez Goodale Architects to plan for a new City Hall. Both Upper and Lower City Hall buildings will be torn down after completion of the new facility.
A newly released study by H. Wendell Mounce & Associates reports that Arcadia could use a new police station, a new city hall, a recreation center and a theater. Total cost of the project if the city hall is replaced would be $20 million.
Tonight Arcadia City Council will explore building a new $12 million City Hall after the proposal was shelved in 2009 for financial reasons. The existing City Hall is undergoing a $2.3 million renovation and remodeling that includes a new heating and air conditioning system, energy efficient windows, new wiring, carpeting and painting. If Council moves forward with new building, the existing one could be used as a community center.
City Manager Bill Kelly outlined a $16 million program to finish all public building projects for Arcadia in three years, as part of the city's five-year capital budget. The spending would include a new $6.5 million City Hall, a $1.3 million upgrade to Fire Station 106 on Baldwin Avenue. The city plans to build a new fire station to replace Fire Station 105 on Santa Anita Avenue. A city gym for the civic center property is in planning stages. The city plans to re-roof the community center for $150,000 and to put up 1/2 of the $800,000 cost to make the high school sports field an all-weather facility.
The City of Arcadia and Arcadia City Council are working on plans for a new civic center and multipurpose facility that would be located next to City Hall and the newly constructed police station. The project would use money from the capital construction fund and is not part of the city's general fund.
Arcadia City Council has gone on record as supporting the building of a new city hall that would be built on the other side of the Civic Center property. Out of three options presented by city manager Bill Kelly, the council consensus was for a new building at a cost of $6.6 million and adjacent to Huntington Drive West.
Lower Arcadia City Hall walkway that leads to the upper part of City Hall. Notice no murals on the walls, they have not been uncovered yet. 240 West Huntington Drive. Photograph by Terry Miller.
Arcadia City Council clears way for massive new homes at 29 East Orange Grove Avenue and 1600 Highland Oaks Drive, despite opposition to the increasing "mansionization," from several members of the Highland Oaks Homeowners Association (HOA). City Council voted to move forward with both projects, finding they complied with city's zoning codes and were exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The two homes met the city's design guidelines and met the resolution that governs design in the HOA areas.
Arcadia's new city government first formed in 1903 and its first meeting took place at Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's Oakwood Hotel, located at First Avenue and Santa Clara Road. Baldwin's hotel featured gambling and fine dining along with city government. The Oakwood Hotel burned down in 1911, and the city government moved to the McCoy Building at First Avenue and St. Joseph Street. Two years later, City Hall moved across the street to the Hibbard Building. In 1917, the first building was constructed as a City Hall at Huntington Drive and Second Avenue (?). A two-story colonial building was built for $18,000. This City Hall opened on July 13, 1918. City Hall moved in 1949 to a 13-acre parcel between Huntington Drive and the Pacific Electric railroad tracks.
Design contracts for architecture and interiors of the eight-story, $15 million Iwataya vertical shopping center in Fukuoka, Japan have been awarded to Chaix & Johnson Associates and Chaix, Pujdak, Bielski, Takeuchi & Daggett Associated Architects & Planners, Los Angeles. It was announced by Arcadia resident Robert H. Daggett, A.I.A., 1405 Rancho Road, a principal of both firms.