May 31, 2022

The newest addition at City Hall has turned an underwhelming and underutilized office space into an impressive area for meetings and media events.

The first-floor renovation transformed an office area that had changed functions multiple times over the life of the building at Ninth Street and Dakota Avenue, which dates back to 1936. It hadn’t been used much recently, and the city had need for more meeting space.

“Our main goal has been to better utilize building space,” said Tom Huber, assistant director of finance, who oversees the city’s facilities management team. “To do that effectively, you really need to have a trades team that can get the job done right and focus not only on maintaining our buildings but putting them to the best use.”

The city’s facilities team played a key role in the project, which otherwise would have been outsourced. The city’s approach in recent years has been to hire more skilled trades professionals in these roles, which allowed them to do the work over a year and a half, balancing it with other maintenance duties spread among the city’s 40 buildings.

“It wasn’t a very inviting space,” Huber said. “They had to rip up all the carpet, do a lot of asbestos removal, and there was a ton of rubble that had to be removed.

The project involved raising a ceiling at least 4 feet and painting it black and uncovering windows that had been concealed over time. The city team handled:

• Demolition and space preparation.
• Carpentry – framing, insulation, sheetrock, trim work and cabinetry install.
• Electrical – piping, wiring, AV installation, light installation, appliances.
• Plumbing – installation of all plumbing and fixtures.
• Safe door restoration and installation.
• Reuse of media equipment from previous Commission Room.

Contractors handled asbestos abatement, HVAC removal and reassembly, fire suppression system replacement, installation of the ceiling grid, counters and flooring, texture and painting. The project was paid for through an internal fund set aside for building repairs and upgrades.

“It’s a really historically appropriate renovation but for modern-day organizational purposes,” chief of staff Erica Beck said. “It’s a great space that should serve the building indefinitely.”

The conference room is designated as the mayor’s conference room, replacing a smaller one inside the mayor’s office suite, although it’s available for the building.

“We’re able to have virtual meeting, and the technology works extremely well, and that’s not necessarily something we had,” Beck said. “And ultimately when we’re bringing in individuals or even companies interested in moving here or business meetings with community leaders, it’s a really great space for hosting them.”

The conference room flows into the larger meeting room designated for news conferences and other city uses. It includes multiple monitors for multimedia display and places for media outlets to plug in equipment.

“We’ve been utilizing different spaces for press conference throughout the years between the Law Enforcement Center and the Commission Room (at City Hall) and neither of those spaces are convenient for press conference purposes, especially the Commission Room,” Beck said.

“It takes a lot of time to set up, it’s not well lit, and in this space because they were able to increase the ceiling height and take it up to where it was originally meant to be and uncover windows, it’s incredible and allows the space to be lit in a different way.”

Laura Lien Interior Design and Interstate Office Products supported the project with design and furnishings. Much of the construction was done by the city’s eight-person team, including carpenter Matt Bierman.

“The fun part is seeing what it was and demo-ing it to nothing and then rebuilding it back,” he said. “Getting to see the final product is pretty satisfying. I think it turned out great and just shows what our team is capable of.”

He helped source a former vault door from City’s Hall’s ground floor that now leads to a kitchenette.

“What’s the chances of that door fitting up here,” he said. “We took measurements five times and verified everything and took the innards out of the door to lighten it up and transported it back up here.”

Electrician Brian Mergen and lead building maintenance mechanic Troy Deutsch also took on significant pieces of the project, while others on the team filled in on needs citywide to create time for the renovation.

Many materials were sourced locally, including cabinetry from Pheasantland Industries, which is an enterprise fund within the South Dakota Department of Corrections.

“It’s so much more cheerful and inviting,” Huber said.

“And with the team we have assembled, it’s allowed us to be more proactive meeting current needs and looking at how to create space that will serve us well into the future.”