Creve Coeur voters gave the green light to a $14 million bond issue on Tuesday, clearing the way for the city to tear down and rebuild a Government Center that has been quietly falling apart for years. Proposition G authorizes the city to borrow the money for a new 35,000-square-foot facility, part of a project that officials have pegged at nearly $24 million overall.
The approval was reported by The Business Journals, which reported that Creve Coeur voters approved the $14 million bond issue for the new city hall. According to the city's own Prop G information page, the measure authorizes $14 million in bonds to help fund reconstruction of the Government Center while keeping the current debt-service property tax rate unchanged, a detail the City of Creve Coeur emphasized to voters ahead of the election.
West County News reported that the city planned to issue $14 million in general obligation bonds if voters approved the measure.
Why City Hall Needs to Go
The push to replace the building isn't just about space. A gap had opened in the City Hall hallway floor, which has separated as the ground beneath the building shifted. The city has put the Government Center replacement budget at nearly $24 million, with $14 million in bonds as part of the project.
Part of the problem traces back to the building's origins. The current Government Center was originally constructed in 1951 as Weber Elementary School in the Parkway School District, according to West Newsmagazine. More than seven decades later, the structure is still serving as City Hall, long after its life as a schoolhouse ended.
A Smaller, Reworked Plan Heads to the Ballot
City leaders had been eyeing a replacement for a long time before voters ever saw Prop G on a ballot. The Business Journals reported in September that city leaders sought a 35,000-square-foot facility to address maintenance and security issues at the current building. That number reflects changes made to the project over time, including the elimination of 22,411 square feet of space that had been set aside for the West Central Dispatch Center, per West Newsmagazine's reporting on the council's ballot-language review.
The planning process has spanned more than a decade. The council later unanimously approved $59,500 for Archimages Inc. to handle conceptual design work, along with an additional $30,846 for Navigate Building Solutions to provide project-development and cost-estimating services.
What Voters Were Promised on Taxes
A central selling point for Prop G was its tax framing. West Newsmagazine reported that Creve Coeur's debt-service property tax rate would remain unchanged for up to 20 years under the measure, meaning the city would borrow for the new building without raising that particular rate on residents.
Under the plan described in earlier coverage, the new Government Center would be built at the same location as the current one. West Newsmagazine reported that construction would take approximately 18 months and be completed in spring 2029, though that timeline was an estimate made before Tuesday's vote and is not confirmed as still on track now that bonds have been approved.
