Ridgeland city officials hope to break ground on the new city center this year, but they are waiting for the Lake Harbour Drive extension project to be completed as well.
“We’re waiting to get through the bidding process of Lake Harbor Drive extension,” Mayor Gene McGee said. “We issued bonds for the city center and construction of the extension. We want to know what the bids are on the extension to know where we are on the project.”
McGee said officials hope to have good news about the bidding process for the Lake Harbour Drive extension.
“I hope we know something soon.”
The city center will be located on 25 acres of land on the north side of School Street and the west side of U.S. Highway 51, facing the Ridgeland Police Department.
The city hall would be the first building on Ridgeland’s new city center site.
McGee said the city is looking at the possibility of having a fine arts center as well. Other potential buildings could include a new library and community center.
The center is needed, in part, to provide residents with better access to city hall and other local government entities. City hall is currently located at the corner of U.S. 51 and Lake Harbour Drive.
Design of the new city hall is being completed by Alan Grant, vice president of Dean and Dean Associates Architects.
The two-story building will be approximately 30,000 square feet and feature what Grant calls “traditional and contemporary elements.”
“We will have traditional detail in the windows, and traditional materials, but will have a more contemporary style with the columns and other elements,” he said.
Once completed, the hall will feature a new mayor’s office, as well as offices for finance and administration, community development, public works, and recreation and parks.
“It’s reflective of what a city hall should mean to a community. It will be a center point,” Grant said.
Ridgeland government has been operating out of a former commercial building that the city purchased between 1985 and 1989. Prior to that, the facility had been used by a company that made blueprints.
“The building has been retrofitted to death,” McGee said. “It’s served its purpose. It’s time to do something different.”
