Exclusive: Manassas City Hall renovation cost estimates soar

Updated 6 p.m. — The cost to renovate Manassas City Hall ballooned by more than 40%.

It will cost about $13 million to overhaul the City Hall building at 9027 Center Street. The building has been emptied for most of the year so contractors can perform the work.

The city hall staff were dispersed between three locations — a payment center (a former DMV office) at 9800 Godwin Drive, the city’s public works office at 8500 Public Works Drive, and the city manager’s office, social services, and fire and rescue administration offices and staff are now at rented space at the Piedmont Building, 9324 West Street.

Construction was to begin in April, wrap up in about a year, and cost about $9 million. Last year, we reported the renovation would address issues plaguing the building’s current workforce, such as traffic flow problems, creating more usable spaces, creating additional meeting and conference spaces, and making use of the hallways to reconfigure office space.

The extra space is intended to allow departments that regularly work together to be closer to each other.

The City Council must decide if it will cover the increased cost of the renovations. If it does, the cash will likely come from the city’s reserve fund, said city spokeswoman Patty Prince.

The city’s lease at the Piedmont Building will end in September 2024 and will likely be renegotiated. Currently, the city pays $23,350 a month for just over 13,300 square feet.

Councilman Ralph Smith tells us the City Council will vote on the additional cash spending. “Given what I know thus far, I.e., the increase in cost now and expected or potential increase in costs caused by various circumstances going forward, I respectfully await the outcome of the evaluation that staff has been asked to prepare before discussing how what we know now impacts the [capital improvement plan], Smith told Potomac Local News.

The news of the cost increase comes during the same week the City Council decided to return to the drawing board, give residents a 15% cut in personal property taxes, and extend the deadline to pay to Wednesday, October 26.

Last month, residents received eye-popping tax bills for their cars, boats, trailers, and other personal property, with some amounts that had increased by more than 20%. City leaders said residents should expect a new tax bill in the mail reflecting the lower payments due and receive a credit if they’ve already paid.

For the first time, a lack of new cars on the market due to supply shortages led to older cars increasing in value. Recognizing the problem, neighboring jurisdictions like Prince William County opted to asses vehicles at 80% of their total market value while Manassas assessed its residents at the full market rate.

All of this comes as residents’ Real Estate tax bills have continued to increase, and the city’s $405 million has ballooned 13% since 2019.

The city’s capital improvement plan has also grown. Crews are putting the finishing touches on a towering police station near Downtown, beginning work on a $6 million addition to the city museum, and removing lanes on busy Grant Avenue to add curb appeal while making the street friendlier for pedestrians.

Democrats control the City Council, and critics had said they’ve “invested” too much in capital projects and have continued to hike tax bills during the pandemic when many struggled to make ends meet.

“I believe the Democrats have taken over the City Council for political reasons. They’ve drunk on tax money and say, ‘hey, we can just take the money and spend it.” That’s what’s going on,” said Richard Bookwalter, and Republican who is seeking one of three open City Council seats in the November 8 General Election.

Incumbent Republicans Theresa Ellis and Lynn Forkell Greene are running with Bookwalter as a slate.

Incumbent Ralph Smith, Sonia Vasquez Luna, and Dheeraj “JD” Jagadev are the Democrats seeking the three open seats.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the expiration date of the city’s lease for private office space.