Given rising construction costs and the change in office space needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Carlsbad City Council reached an important milestone by unanimously approving a new hybrid approach to replacing the aging City Hall.
Rather than consolidate a new city hall and civic center on one city-owned property, where there was no clear consensus among community members about which location is best, the plan focuses on rebuilding City Hall and the Cole Library at their current locations but keeping the Faraday Administration Center.
This hybrid means:
- A larger, modern City Council Chamber
- New community meeting rooms and spaces
- A larger Cole library
- Continued city services at Faraday, centrally located in the city
Why
- Due to inflation and supply chain issues, construction costs for a centralized City Hall are now more than the amount the city estimates would be generated from developer fees to pay for it.
- The COVID pandemic has greatly accelerated the shift to remote work, virtual meetings and online collaboration, meaning the city’s office space needs have also changed.
Not only is this option less expensive, but it also allows the city to construct the new city hall in its current location with existing funds generated from developer fees and still have funds leftover to use on other projects, such as Veterans Park, the city’s Public Works yard & storage, and the Cole Library rebuild and expansion. The city can also proceed with selling other properties that had been kept as potential City Hall locations and use that money toward the project.
Next steps
- Staff will start the process of planning for a rebuilt City Hall and library, including updated cost estimates and timelines.
- Staff will pursue the sale of the Farmers property at the southwest corner of El Camino Real and Faraday Avenue and deposit funds back into the same account used to purchase it in the first place.
More information
Staff report
