Six years and $4 million – and Old City Hall is nearly
finished.
One tenant – Dr. John Addis – has already moved in and another –
Northwestern Mutual Financial Network – will be moving in at the
end of the month.
And the sparkling interior makes one forget the building has
actually stood in that spot for a century. Officials with the
Office of Economic and Community Development have promised the
public a look inside on Feb. 20, when a public tour will be offered
from 2 to 4 p.m., before the building is closed for its private
tenants.
“It wouldn’t be our intention to make it a destination,” said
Jeff Andrews, construction supervisor and inspector with the OECD.
Although it is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city,
it isn’t meant to be a tourist attraction.
The building will be considered private.
After the initial public tour, no further tours are planned,
explained Debbie Huston, economic and community development
coordinator.
And when the public does get a chance to enter, what they see
will be reminiscent of what the building has held in the past – but
new and improved.
The back entrance of the historic building, what used to be the
jail, opens into the west lobby, which will now be the main
entrance because of its proximity to the parking lot.
One wall of the lobby features a floor-to-ceiling mural by Kong
Ho, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford professor of art. The
mural, “Honoring the Past and Embracing the Future,” features
images from Bradford’s history, such as a Piper Aircraft, a Zippo
lighter, Pitt-Bradford and the oil and lumber industries.
Wooden columns, painted to resemble marble, are on either side
of the mural and in the hallway.
A rounded, sweeping staircase leads to the second floor, into
what used to be known as the rotunda.
The front entrance, with it’s grand staircase opening onto a
large rotunda, has also been restored to its previous grandeur. The
rotunda isn’t what it used to be, but clever design of partitions
for office suites located to each side of the space give the
illusion of openness.
Each suite has a front wall made of glass.
“The (Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission) allowed the
partitions, but wanted them to be glass as you could see the
space,” Andrews said.
“This is the more historic part of the building,” Huston said,
explaining that one can look around the spacious interior and see
numerous details from the original building.
Along with the obvious improvements, there are so many things
one doesn’t take in at first glance. Like the newly installed
elevator to make the century-old building handicapped accessible;
the heating and air conditioning; kitchenettes in a common area and
in one private office which has already been leased; and fire
safety and sprinkler systems throughout the building.
Huston said optimally, they would like to see eight tenants
leasing suites in Old City Hall. “We wanted to market these as
suites,” she said. “We try to maximize the floor plan, to maximize
the available space.”
Andrews showed that even the first floor – what used to be the
basement and featured the former police station’s shooting range –
has been renovated into one suite space.
“We wanted to give the first floor some character,” Huston said,
gesturing towards rock walls left intact.
“We left the original rock. The PHMC likes it when you leave
parts of the character of the building,” Andrews said.
And very few parts of the building are left unused. A small,
uneven space created by installing the elevator has been turned
into a kitchenette. A small attic space has been turned into a
conference room for tenants.
“It is turning out well,” Andrews said, giving credit to
Klauscher Architects Inc. for keeping their vision intact.
And even though the building is nearing completion, the OECD’s
role isn’t completed.
“We’ll manage the building,” Huston said. “Hopefully our tenants
will be long term.”
They are hopeful the building will be self-sustaining with the
income from the leases, and plan to start a fund from that for
long-term maintenance.
“When the roof needs replaced say 20 years down the road, it’s
not going to cost $400,000,” Huston said. “We’ll probably be
looking at a million dollars. We’ll start setting that aside
now.”
