Wichita Falls city staff have finished moving back into a newly refurbished City Hall after more than a year and a half of operating out of rented office space across town. The City Council approved spending more than $19 million in federal COVID-19 relief money on the renovation, bringing city employees home to the building that faces Seventh Street even as workers continue tackling a punch list of finishing touches outside.
A Long Road Back From Rented Offices
City offices began clearing out of Wichita Falls City Hall in February 2024, relocating into rented space in the Big Blue and Wichita Towers office buildings on Eighth Street while the renovation got underway, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The Wichita Falls City Council had approved spending the federal relief funds on the project, setting in motion a renovation that would keep staff displaced for more than a year and a half.
Chris Horgen, the city's public information officer, told the outlet that his own office was the last to move out before reconstruction started and the last to move back in, arriving this past Monday. He did not have a final price tag for the completed renovation, per the same report, leaving the ultimate cost of the project still unclear even as staff settle back into their old building.
What's Left On The Punch List
The renovation still isn't entirely finished. The project has a remaining punch list, and crews are currently working on landscaping at the front of City Hall. Glass for the building is expected to be delivered within the next week, another item still pending before the job can be called complete.
The city council chambers are expected to be ready in time for the next scheduled council meeting in early October. Wichita Falls posts its meeting schedules and agendas through the Council Meetings and Agendas page.
New Layout, But No Kiosk Comeback
Not everything is returning exactly as it was before the renovation. A utility payment kiosk will not return to City Hall, a change from how residents previously handled certain payments in the building. The utility collections office, meanwhile, is now located in an area designed to let people enter and exit the building more easily.
City offices are also getting a technological refresh as part of the move back in. Televisions installed in city offices are meant to make meetings easier logistically, supporting computer-based meetings as part of a broader effort to bring the offices up to date.
