|
|||||||||||
|
| City Center opens for business WEST PALM BEACH -- Marsha Gates has worked for the City of West Palm Beach more than 30 years and figures she knows just about everyone else who does, but she confesses she'll need a map to navigate through the new city hall at City Center. "Oh my, it's beautiful," she said, getting settled into her new office in the city's Utilities Customer Service department on the first floor. "Like any new building, it's going to take some time to find out where everybody is. I had to get directions to a co-worker's desk today." Her department – she's customer service supervisor – is now all on the first floor instead of occupying two as employees did in the old building. On the first day of service at City Center, customers were waiting at 8 a.m. Some roamed the lobby "seeing what they could see," she said. Employees and residents alike marveled at the new $154 million city hall and library that fill the 400 block of Clematis Street after years of a giant void there. Whereas 300 employees worked in the old building on Banyan Avenue, 450 will be housed at City Center. "Employees from eight different locations are coming to this new facility," said Peter Robbins, public information officer for the city. That includes the human resources department that used to be on 45th Street and the web site administrators, who were housed in a parks maintenance building, he said. Every service that residents might need – including paying water bills in Gates' department – are clustered on the first floor. Other services there include getting public records or obtaining a building permit. And the city's new meeting chamber with room for 150 is on the first floor as well. Crucial to making it work is the adjacent 300-space parking garage with access from Banyan Boulevard or Dixie Highway and another 600-space lot across Quadrille Boulevard from City Center. "It's not free," Robbins said. "It wasn't free at our old city hall either. But the rates are the same. It's $1 for the first 2 hours, then $1 per hour after that." The road to City Center has been long and bumpy, beginning with the city's realization that the problems in its old city hall, including crowding, roof leaks and mold, wouldn't all be solved at that location. Gates reminisced about that move nearly 30 years ago into the Banyan Street location the city is abandoning. "It was very spacious when we first moved in," she said. "Over time employees were added, departments were added, divisions of departments were added. It just got to be pretty crowded." Moving to Clematis Street began as an idea to fill the long-vacant 400 block with people and commerce by using the much-touted traditional urban design of shopping on the building's first floor with offices above. When the plan changed to exclude the private businesses and include space for the beloved but outdated city library, many residents fought it. Some sued in a case that wasn't settled until just last year. The only private entity expected to occupy space in City Center is the Palm Beach Photographic Centre, which will lease space from the city. The city's library, which opens April 13, will be three times the size of the existing building at the foot of Clematis Street. Its modern design provides separate spaces for children and teens, and provides 142 computers for residents' use, Robbins said. With 400 more employees working on Clematis Street, merchants are certain to enjoy the benefits of the additional commerce they'll bring. "I'm sure those retailers don't mind us making our move," Robbins said. Gates said they'd all be venturing out once they've finished taking in their new surroundings. "This place," she said, "oh it's gorgeous. It's clean, dust-free, mold-free. "The employees are very happy." |
