Demolition of City Hall's building B is a Step Toward Bedford Commons

Demolition of City Hall’s Building ‘B’ is Another Step Towards Bedford Commons

July 9, 2024

Not only is it more cost effective to tear it down than renovate it, the demolition of City Hall’s Building ‘B’ is also another step toward the development of Bedford Commons.

The ground work for Bedford Commons is taking another step forward with Tuesday’s unanimous (6-0) approval by consent by City Council to award the demolition of City Hall’s Building ‘B’ to Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition, according Council’s meeting agenda, to help open up space for the development project.

What appears to be the first step, is already under construction, according to the City’s website, with the widening of Parkwood Drive, on the site’s eastern perimeter, to a “two-lane roadway with a lane for parallel parking” and to include landscaping with trees and sidewalks.

The Finance and Human Resources Staff, working in Building ‘B,’ as stated in the agenda, will be relocated to Building ‘C’ of the City Hall complex, which is the former library building, located on the other side of L. Don Dodson.

The $143,500 demolition contract with Nabors, which includes “asbestos abatement,” according to the Council meeting’s agenda, will be funded through a $12 million “allocation” to the City from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). From that total, the agenda stated, City Council in late 2022, “approved the use of the ‘standard allowance’ allocation of $10 million to replace lost revenue.” The federal money from ARPA, the agenda further explained, is provided on a use-it-or-lose-it basis where “any funds not obligated” for use by the end of this year, 2024, must be returned

City Hall’s Building ‘B,’ in need of a new roof and other repairs, is to be demolished as a step toward developing Bedford Commons.

According to Bedford’s Director of Communications Molly Fox, the 50-year-old, 7,450-square-foot building is in need of significant renovations, making the demolition “much more cost effective” than keeping it. Some of the work and updates, she said via email, include the need for a new roof at $120,000, plumbing maintenance and repairs to the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system. In addition, Fox said, there are “pest issues.”

In the meantime, Council and other city leaders are awaiting to hear the conclusions of a Bedford Commons market study from Midway Development, which is expected to be presented to the City sometime between October and the end of the year. The City and Midway entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement in April to research possible concepts and types of businesses that would align with the project. According to the City’s website, Midway’s research “will determine the most sustainable type of businesses for the property and other features, such as a farmer’s market, housing, open spaces and gathering areas (common spaces).”

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