By Eric Curl
Aug. 10, 2022 – The city of Savannah is seeking design and construction administration services for a city hall restoration project, as outlined in a request for proposals issued Monday.
Savannah’s City Hall was built between 1904-1906 and is a contributing building within Savannah’s National Landmark Historic District.
Beyond regular maintenance, minor repairs, and the installation of some modern systems, no formal interior restoration of the building has been completed since the building was constructed, according to the RFP. As a result there are damaged and deteriorated materials, missing original architectural details and inappropriate use of space. The building reportedly also has some temperature and humidity control issues.
The city RFP states that the project will need to be planned out in phases to address critical needs first and to allow for phases to be completed as funding becomes available. There is $3 million designated for the project in the current special purpose local option sales tax, which was approved by voters in 2019. Another $2 million in SPLOST VII funds could be allocated to complete the project if the sales-tax collections exceed $420 million – with portions of the next $10 million in revenue allocated towards the restoration project and others.
Spaces included in the scope of work include, but are not limited to, the first-floor entrance lobby, the rotunda, the building’s main stairwell, the city council’s chambers, corridors and the west half of the first floor.
The city is seeking a firm with at least 10 years of established historic preservation experience, in addition to specializing in historic preservation, architectural design, project management and construction administration.
The RFP comes about four years since the completion of a city hall interior condition assessment and restoration plan by Lominack Kolman Smith Architects. The 2018 assessment’s findings included cracked mosaic tile, damaged wood trim, damaged columns, altered window sashes, missing brass door knobs, active water intrusion and electrical deficiencies.
The plan recommended that the interior public spaces receive restoration in the short term, particularly the priority items.
“As more time passes, the breadth and costs associated with the restoration of the spaces included in this scope will grow as their deterioration increases and condition declines,” the report states. “While much of the building’s historic fabric remains intact, this is not guaranteed in the long term.”
The assessment went on to state that restoration work should not be limited to the public spaces.
“While the restoration of these public spaces are of the utmost priority, it should be noted that the entirety of the building is ripe for restoration,” the report stated. “A brief tour of a handful of secondary spaces showed that the deterioration and condition of the public spaces is representative of the building as a whole.”
The city is accepting proposals for the project until 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 6.
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