Bowling Green City Commission approves proposal for City Hall renovations

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – During the Bowling Green City Commission meeting on Tuesday, a proposal was approved to begin a massive project on the City Hall campus in downtown Bowling Green.

The estimated $30 million project would include a 60,000 square foot building to replace the current Public Works space connected to City Hall, along with the Annex next door and the building behind City Hall.

“Right now, we’re serving inside of four different buildings. All of them old, all of them outdated. All of them with outdated systems. City Hall’s over 120 years old… How do we create a new building and also renovate City Hall to preserve the history of city services being provided on this corner for over a hundred years, and continue that but also make sure that we’re being stewards of the money and making sure that we’re making the best investment moving forward,” Brent Childers, Neighborhood and Community Services director, says.

The plan does not include any changes to City Hall’s current location, barring a few minor renovations to the interior.

“This is a really good building. The city has done a great job of maintaining this building. But looking at updating the HVAC systems, updating the lighting, making sure that it has a great energy efficiency. How can we protect the envelope of the building? But also what, who needs to be here to serve?,” Childers says.

Bowling Green City Hall was constructed in 1907, and Childers says they want to preserve the over 100 years of history the building has while also preparing it for the future and serving the next 50 to 100 years of Bowling Green.

“We want to maintain that historical character of downtown Bowling Green, but continue to make sure that we’re making smart, strategic investments in building new, energy efficient buildings as part of that. With the historic tax credit, it allows us to get a rebate on a portion of the investment that we make here in City Hall. So we see that as a benefit, as a return back to the citizens as we look for those upgrades,” Childers says.

The project is estimated to take around three years to complete: one for design and the other two for construction. News 40 will keep you updated as we learn more.