‘That’s extremely doable’: New Amarillo City Hall on schedule to be completed late next year

The $35 million dollar project will feature three stories with modern infrastructure and all room for future expansion for the city.

KDFA
By Kelsey Davis KFDA
Published: Dec. 7, 2023 at 4:47 PM GMT-7

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The $35 million project will feature three stories with modern infrastructure and all room for future expansion for the city.

“We’re still looking at a November date to be able to move into the facility. We think that’s extremely doable. A lot of people have looked at this and realized this is an excellent building to be utilizing,” said Jerry Danforth, facilities manager for the City of Amarillo.

The first floor will focus on public convenience.

“Anything that is customer facing, other than the council chambers, is all on the first floor. When somebody comes into city hall, they don’t have to wander around and worry about ‘Where do I got to go? Who do I have to talk to?’” said Danforth.

The third floor will host the new city council chambers. Council members will be able to face one another and the larger space will allow room for a press area.

“We’ve provided a lot of that access there, thinking about how we can share information with the public and make it as seamless as possible,” said Danforth.

In order to stay on budget, a few items have been cut from the project. These include a parking garage, daycare facility and drive-ups.

The city says it will continue to pay close attention to details as the new city hall project unfolds.

“We work with our contractors every week. We have sit-down meetings looking at the progress, looking at costs and seeing what our potential savings are. What we can do different that would be more efficient. It’s something that’s a top priority to us. We look at it in those ways,” said Danforth.

As of now, Danforth says 25% of the new City Hall project has been completed.

Overall, the city wants to provide a building that both employees and Amarillo residents can utilize.

“State of the art, it’s a great facility for us. We are going to be able to work more efficiently out of it. We’re just really excited about the possibilities. The council chamber is going to be a fantastic place for the public to come. It’s just going to be a great building,” said Donny Hooper, director of public works for the City of Amarillo.

The city says the renovation should be complete by November 2024.