Officials already view new City Hall as near-perfect fit

Newspapers and city governments may enjoy an adversarial relationship, but they’re pretty compatible when it comes to office space.

Vancouver is in the middle of a space-planning process for its new City Hall downtown — which means they’re looking at how to arrange some 260 workers onto four floors last occupied by reporters, editors and other Columbian employees.

As he walked through the six-story building this week, Tim Haldeman, Vancouver’s director of facilities, risk and services, said that while it could cost up to $3 million to get everything in order, there’s a lot that works already.

“That’s a really nice fact about the building, that it really fits our needs,” Haldeman said. “The layout in the building is just awesome.”

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold-certified building features a largely open floor plan, with low cubicle walls and conference rooms. Stonework is inlaid in kitchens and bathrooms throughout. Windows reach from the floor to the ceiling.

A full move, which involves bringing in staff from five separate buildings scattered across Vancouver, will be completed by August 2011.

There are a few more offices that need to be built — for attorneys who have many sensitive meetings, for example. And there’s the question of where to house a new city council chambers (expanding the building’s community room may be an option).

And workers have expressed interest in bringing in a small restaurant, like the Dragonfly Cafe in the county’s Public Service Building.

“We’re going to do as much as we can with the least amount of cost,” Haldeman said.

But, conference rooms are in the right places. A loading ramp used for truck deliveries will make the work of CVTV staff much easier.

The first floor atrium will have a customer service setup of some sort. The city’s also received many inquiries about using the space for art and it may even become an ideal reception or other sort of event space, he said.

The second floor, which housed Columbian Publisher Scott Campbell and the administrative team, will likely do nicely for the city manager, city council and other top officials, he said.

Even the artwork, featuring etched glass with a newspaper headline motif, will stay, since it also fits a city history theme, Haldeman said.

“It’s not all city — some of it’s county — but we don’t care,” he said, stepping into an elevator.

Other swank features include a bike locker room and showers for those who sweat getting there on two wheels; a computer server room that runs on its own heating and cooling system; and a courtyard plaza and a third-floor patio.

Vancouver employees have been touring the space every Tuesday and Thursday — most are taken with their new digs, Haldeman said.

That the transition is a smooth one is intentional, said Campbell.

“The building was designed as commercial office space that could be transformed from any business use to any other business use,” he said. “Whether you’re an insurance company, a law office, a newspaper company or a city government, there’s an awful lot of similarities — it’s about people and functions, and not so much about space.”

The city bought the former Columbian building for $18.5 million in June from Bank of America after Downtown Vitality Partners forfeited it in a bankruptcy settlement earlier this year. Downtown Vitality Partners is owned by the Campbell family and had no stake in the deal.

Using bonds and cash from Vancouver’s capital fund, the total move is expected to cost about $23 million. Capital fund money cannot be used in the general fund, from which police, fire and many other city services are paid for.

City officials have said that by consolidating into one building, they expect to save about $1 million a year in leasing costs.

The city expects to pay off the bonds on the 118,000-square-foot building in 25 years, and believes it will accommodate growth for a minimum of 40 years.

The top two floors of the six-story building are leased by private companies, and the city will continue those leases for the foreseeable future, Haldeman said.

Andrea Damewood: 360-735-4542 or andrea.damewood@columbian.com.