Berlin council members unanimously approved Haley Architecture to manage services that will ultimately lead to major renovations at Town Hall.
The outside of the Berlin Town Hall is pictured.
File photo
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
The Berlin council unanimously approved Haley Architecture to manage services that will ultimately lead to major renovations at Town Hall.
Daniele Haley, principal of the architectural firm, noted Town Hall was constructed in approximately 1900 and consists of roughly 11,200 square feet. The project’s scope will improve the appearance and usability of the structure’s interior. The business is partnering with SR/A for interior work and IMEG for engineering. Exterior work is not currently planned.
Upgrades are expected to include a “more open entrance space with a new reconfigured staircase and a new elevator replacing an existing lift,” Haley said.
A minimum of 14 individual offices, two conference rooms, a consolidated kitchen and break room, and improved space utilization for council chambers are also anticipated.
The Mayor and Council were pleased that renovations would incorporate a hydraulic elevator to enhance the building’s accessibility.
“To hear that [Town Hall] will become more compliant and that we will have something more efficient for our friends and neighbors who need handicap accessibility is very exciting,” Councilmember Shaneka Nichols said.
Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall noted that he would like to see departmental offices grouped so that individuals who often work together can easily communicate.
“We know that, that elevator lift is not fast,” he said. “If you want to come up and meet with your team or another team…right now, that workflow of the building is not laid out well.”
Improvements to the upstairs access are also expected to remedy this issue.
“We are treating this building as if we were going to gut the entire thing,” Haley said. “We are keeping the windows, exteriors, and general entrances, but we are treating it like a full renovation. Budget will drive some of that, but we plan to move walls and do what we must to make it functional.”
Haley Architecture will survey the existing Town Hall conditions and prepare a plan to reorganize the spaces to accommodate better staff and residents who frequent the building. The firm intends to outline a design for HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection limited to the “reuse and reconfiguration of existing systems” and supply bidding and construction administration.
Per the firm’s scope, they will “provide design assistance for the new entry stair and design and detail modifications to the existing second-floor structure to accommodate a larger opening for a new hydraulic elevator to replace the existing lift.”
The SR/A interiors team may also provide FF&E (furniture, fixtures, and equipment) for $41,800.
The schematic design phase, which will take two months and include the conceptual design drawings, will incur a fee of $49,770. Design development is expected to last three months and is $57,800. Construction documents like project specifications and construction drawings carry a price tag of $75,000 for four months of work.
The bidding phase, which will include responding to contractor questions and preparing agenda information, will cost $19,700. Construction administration, which will take eight months, will cost $67,400. The town will spend a total of $269,670 on Haley Architecture’s design and construction documents for the Town Hall project.
Councilmember Jack Orris made a motion to approve Haley’s proposal with the caveat it includes the $269,670 in design and construction documents and the interior team’s optional addition of furnishings and design services for $41,800. The decision passed unanimously.