Plans for $3.5-million Bluffton Town Hall renovation unveiled

Bluffton's government headquarters is primed for a $3.5-million facelift.

Town council members gave staff the preliminary go-ahead earlier this week to begin design work to upgrade and expand Town Hall.

The 27,000-square-foot structure -- known formally as the Theodore D. Washington Municipal Building -- was built in 1976.

Renovation plans unveiled this week would add nearly 4,000 square feet to the facility, mostly in the form of new public gathering space for government meetings and municipal court hearings, as well as dozens of new parking spaces around the building.

Formerly home to H.E. McCracken Middle School, the building is owned by the Beaufort County School District. It became Town Hall in 1992, and the town leases it for $1 per year.

Several years ago, Bluffton leaders considered moving town and Municipal Court operations to a location just off SC 46 between the post office and the Bluffton library.

But ultimately that plan was scrapped in favor of staying put at 20 Bridge St.

Bluffton has paid for several rounds of renovations over the years, including roughly $750,000 in upgrades since 2000.

And while town manager Marc Orlando said the building still "has good bones," the cost of constantly fixing lighting, air conditioning, plumbing and the like have "really added up quickly," Orlando said.

In addition to replacing the heating and cooling systems with more efficient models, the renovation plans include adding modern fire sprinklers and alarm systems.

"There's really not a fire suppression system" in the current facility, Orlando said.

What it lacks in fire safety, the structure makes up for in the potentially cancer-causing building fibers.

"We've (found) that there's asbestos in (Town Hall)," Orlando said. "We know that, all these old buildings (have asbestos). It's nothing to be alarmed about."

The renovation would address this issue, he said.

Current windows will be replaced and new ones added in the hopes of brightening the notoriously dark, dank Town Hall interior .

The town currently has $500,000 in capital improvement money budgeted for Town Hall upgrades this fiscal year.

Orlando said the town would need another $2.5 million to $3 million in fiscal year 2017 to get the job done.

Town council members, wary of cost overruns that tend to plague public projects, pressed Orlando during a workshop earlier this week about whether the renovation will stay on budget.

"We will come in under budget or on budget," Orlando assured town leaders, even if that means scaling back the project as it moves forward.

Construction is expected to begin by November, but "to meet that schedule we have to really work hard and stay on track."

Mayor Lisa Sulka agreed, saying the town must "work efficiently and think outside the box" to meet budget and construction deadline goals.

Follow reporter Lucas High on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Lucas.

Related content:

• Bluffton to consider building new town hall, court, May 13, 2013

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 10:18 AM with the headline "Plans for $3.5-million Bluffton Town Hall renovation unveiled."