Moorhead City Hall on April 23. (Photo/Nancy Hanson.)

Moorhead City Council

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

As the Center Mall is being cleared away for redevelopment, the Moorhead City Council took the first step in planning for the centerpiece of the downtown district.
On Monday, the council approved a contract with JLG Architects for pre-design architectural and engineering services to renovate the 50-year-old civic headquarters. According to architect Rob Remark, the project will also include design of a lobby area on the first floor and a civic plaza in front of the five-story building, often described as the “sugar cube.”
The plaza will anchor the building and provide a gathering space connecting the new regional library/community center and city offices.
According to assistant city manager Mike Rietz, plans for renovating the building will be pulled together in coming months. “It’s hard at this time to refine the scope of the project,” he told the council. “We’ll be taking a close look at what needs to be done, consulting with the staff and figuring out what the project is all about.” One priority, he suggested, was creating an entrance on the main floor to welcome the public into the building, which has risen above the Center Mall. “We need more than just two elevator doors,” he said.
He added that the aging building has a number of structural and mechanical issues. It still relies on its original boiler system, which required extensive repairs over the past winter.
The JLG pre-design contract, at a cost of $67,000, publicly signals a change of direction from the mall’s original pre-development contract, developed by former city manager Chris Volkers and signed with Roers Development in 2019. That document referred to the Roers firm constructing a new city hall and then leasing it back to the city. Payments would eventually enable public ownership. It also stated that the city would sell the city-owned property in the mall to Roers. In a section referring to the future of City Hall, the agreement referred to relocation to a separate site within the city.”
According to Rietz and Remark, consultation with city employees in coming days will include review of how the space is used and what is needed in the final design. At the suggestion of council member Heather Nesemeier, Remark also committed to soliciting public comment on design of the outdoor plaza. A contractor will be hired after the pre-design phase has been completed.