New Panama City Hall opening on Feb 4.

Jan. 17--PANAMA CITY -- After some hurricane-related delays, the new Panama City City Hall on Harrison Avenue is opening early next month.

"This is a new chapter in the city's history," said Assistant City Manager Jared Jones. "We've only had three city halls."

The renovated building -- formerly the Trustmark bank -- is set to open to the public on Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. The new 60,000-square-foot facility will allow all the departments to be consolidated under on roof to create "one-stop shopping" for Panama City residents.

The path has not been smooth. First, there were issues with the space that had been set aside for a meeting room having columns that would obscure the view of attendees, causing the commission to decide to not build a meeting room and instead meet at the county's chambers. Then, there was an issue with the price when it came in at a little over $16 million, more than double what the commission had been expecting, and it was revealed there was missing and incomplete paperwork. The city is considering legal action against their consultants ZHA as a result. And then, there was Hurricane Michael.

Before the storm, Jones said the city had been planning to open the new city hall on Dec. 15.

"The building did take some damage," Jones said. "The HVAC unit tumbled off its mount ... which caused some localized flooding on the top floor."

There was also some water damage in the basement. The good news, Jones said, is that the builder's risk insurance will cover the costs of those damages so it will not impact the city's bottom line.

"We've been on a really long road, and this is a great step into the city's future," Jones said. "This is a building everyone can be proud of."

With the larger footprint, the city will house over 100 people in the building, compared to the 44 people at the previous city hall. There will also be space for the city's FEMA consultants to set up an office to, hopefully, quicken the recovery process. Jones said having more people in one place will encourage teamwork.

The city is currently operating from A.D. Harris Learning Village.

The moving process will begin on Friday, Feb. 1 which will cause some city services to be limited that day, although, a representative for Utility Billing will be able to assist customers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the A.D. Harris Learning Village.

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