Willow Glen Resident
News
City, county officials ponder uses for old city hall building
By Eli Segall
San Jose and Santa Clara County officials are mulling over the future of the old San Jose City Hall site, as both governments try to determine the building's worth and condition.
Determining city hall's fate has been an official agenda item for both the city and county since August 2006. Then, at a recent joint meeting of the San Jose City Council and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, a resolution was passed to form a "cooperation agreement" over civic center real estate issues.
To help guide the process, the city recently ordered a land use study and an evaluation of the building's historical significance. Both reports should be ready by the end of March, said Sharon Russell, program manager for Old City Hall Re-Use in the San Jose General Services Department.
On Feb. 12, city and county officials took a tour of the building at the corner of N. First and E. Mission streets to see first-hand the condition of the old civic center, which closed after San Jose city government moved to its current home on E. Santa Clara Street in 2005.
Deputy San Jose city managers Dan McFadden and Ed Shikada were joined on the walkthrough by Pat Love, Santa Clara County's asset and economic development director and Larry Klamecki, the county's special projects manager. Russell led the tour.
"Structurally there's nothing wrong with it, but it needs a substantial amount of rehabilitation," Russell said. The building needs a new air filtration and lighting system; the bathrooms do not meet federal disability standards; and the roof must be replaced, she said.
Refurbishing it would cost $32.7 million, according to city estimates. This requires demolition work, cleaning the site of hazardous materials and bringing it up to health and safety code standards.
Restoring city hall is just one option the city is exploring. Other options include selling it to private developers or tearing it down and building a new city structure, Russell said.
The county, however, sees only one option.
"We'd like to have it," Love said, "but it's just too early in the game."
Love did not say what purpose old city hall would serve, but county officials say they need space to alleviate crowded, neighboring office buildings. Within walking distance of the site is county government headquarters at 70 W. Hedding St. as well as several judicial and bureaucratic offices.
Any decision over city hall is years away, Love said. Nevertheless, rumors have swirled since its closure. Early speculation pinned the site as a training center for the San Jose police; the police academy sits adjacent to the site, and police headquarters are around the corner.
The police appear to have a head start on the other choices: every week cadets use the second floor of old city hall as training ground for crime simulations, Russell said.
Another option being discussed is a land swap for the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, said San Jose fire chief Darryl Von Raesfeld.
"The fairgrounds is the ideal situation for us," said Von Raesfeld, who wants to build a new fire training center at the fairgrounds. "If the county wants old city hall, they could give up land in exchange."
The board of supervisors will discuss this option at the end of March, when the board hands down general conceptual guidelines on the use of the fairgrounds, Love said.
