MANSFIELD — Work is expected to begin in late September on a $3.5 million, year-long project to improve the Mansfield Municipal Building.
The work will be paid for by a portion of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, a project approved by City Council more than two years ago.
Then-Mayor Tim Theaker said in April 2022 the nine-story city building at 30 N. Diamond St. has not undergone significant renovation since its construction a half century ago.
A contract for the work was awarded to Adena Corp. by the city’s Board of Control earlier this month. The Mansfield company submitted the lone bid for the project, according to city engineer Bob Bianchi.
Since the funding was approved by local lawmakers in 2022, construction prices have continued to rise and decisions had to be made in terms of which projects could be completed, Bianchi said.
The total price tag for all improvements the city wanted to do in the building totaled $5.2 million, he said, which is why bids sought for the project included alternatives.
“We dialed back,” Bianchi said. “We didn’t do all of the components we wanted to do.
“We had suspected that we were never going to be able to do all the work that we had hoped, but that’s what you do.
“You try to include alternatives in the bid to see how much of the work you can potentially do,” the engineer said.
Work scheduled to be done includes:
— Reconstruction of the vestibule on the Diamond Street entrance to the building. Bianchi said there is structural steel and concrete repair work that needs to be completed underneath the entrance.
— City Council chambers will be renovated with a new ceiling, new lighting and new audio/visual equipment. The space behind the audience chairs will also be renovated to allow people to walk more freely in the rear of council chambers. The tiered seating used by local lawmakers and members of the city administration will also be modified and renovated.
— replacement of the cast iron sanitary sewer pipe on floors five through nine on the men’s side of the stack.
— Restrooms will be renovated and converted to ADA compliance on floors five through nine. Restrooms on the second floor will also be renovated.
— All corner windows in the building on floors five through nine will be taken out and repaired. Bianchi said the windows leak when it rains. Those windows will be removed, cleaned and reinstalled with material that should prevent additional leaking.
— The third-floor ceiling outside City Council chambers will be replaced.
— Kitchenettes/break areas for employees will be installed on floors four through eight, including a countertop, sink and refrigerator.
“We anticipate construction starting late September, early October. (Adena) thinks it will take a full year to complete the project,” he said. “They want to get in and get out.”
The biggest project not included in the approved plan was the mezzanine and retaining wall replacement on the east side of the building, which is near a second-floor entrance used by employees.
“We are looking at a plan to replace that within the next five years,” Bianchi said, estimated it would cost $1.1 million to do the steel and concrete work there.
