Vadnais Heights ready to roll on new city service facility

Construction is about to begin on a $12 million community service center to replace three irreparable city buildings.

By JEAN HOPFENSPERGER, Star Tribune

Last update: June 1, 2009 - 9:19 PM

The old Vadnais Heights City Hall is slated to come tumbling down this week, one of three city buildings that will be demolished to make way for a $12.3 million city service center.

The center, which will house the north fire station, public works facility and community gathering space, was approved by the Vadnais Heights City Council in May. It is the largest city expenditure ever undertaken by this northern suburb, according to city officials.

In spite of the weak economy, the city decided to push forward with the demolition and construction because the need was so great and because the city could tap new, low-interest bonds through the federal economic stimulus package, said Bob Sundberg, city finance director.

"The weak economy actually helped this project," he said. "The bids were lower than we expected. The interest rates are good. And there were the new 'Build America' bonds" from the stimulus package.

The bonds are designed to give the city a 35 percent rebate on its interest costs every year, he said. The city will tap $7 million in bonding and use $5.3 million of city reserves to fund the project, he said.

The center will be built on County Road E near the intersection of Hwy. 61. The three buildings being replaced were in such bad shape that they couldn't be salvaged, city officials said.

"Right now the area is an eyesore," Sundberg said. "We're in violations of many city codes. We've got equipment stored outside. It looks like a dump. Something had to happen."

If all goes as planned, the city will hold a groundbreaking ceremony this month, said Mark Graham, the city's public works director. Construction of the 70,000-square-foot service center is expected to take a year, he said. CBS Construction Services of Champlin holds the city contract to do the work.

The feature that drew the most citizen interest was the 350-person community center that will be used for meetings and events sponsored by the city, as well as businesses, scouts, senior citizens and other groups, city officials said. Vadnais Heights currently does not have a place where large groups can hold events and celebrations, they said.

The project will have many "green'' features, added Vadnais Heights Mayor Susan Banovetz. Salvageable materials will be recycled. The building will be highly energy efficient, with skylights above all work areas. The wood products used will be taken from renewable forests. And a storm water retention system will be built on site.

Meanwhile, volunteer firefighters who normally work out of the south station will be based in the north station, Graham said. City workers at the old public works building have temporarily moved to other space, he said. And because the old City Hall building had been used mainly for storage, closing it didn't require any staff relocation.

Graham said the project is now ready to ready to roll.

"We have designed the building," he said. "We have gotten the bids for it. We've awarded the contract. We're set to go."

Jean Hopfensperger • 612-673-4511

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