MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Renovations at Morgantown City Hall are set to be completed by the end of January 2024, just about a month behind the original schedule. Director of Engineering and Public Works for the city of Morgantown, Damien Davis, said the project is also slightly over budget, but for a nearly 100-year-old building with many unknowns, that is to be expected.
“We’re about 5 percent over our original budget right now of $3 million, which is about $150,000 over our original budget, which is pretty good,” Davis said.
Commercial Builders, Inc. has been ripping out renovations and repairs added over the last 90-plus years to add updated finishes with a fresh look. Davis said sometimes the work moves slowly due to the challenges presented by the age of the building.
“They’re through the demolition process, and now they’re building everything back,” Davis said. “I’m working on drywall and hopefully soon working on finishes, so it’s moving well.”
The front doors to the building were replaced in the 1950s with metal doors, and those will be swapped for a more original look. The front entrance has also been redone with added security areas to separate public areas from work areas for city employees. One of the project additions is to uncover skylights in the building that were covered possibly in the 1950’s, according to Davis.
“We’re going to open those back up. That was one of the things we really didn’t anticipate in the beginning,” Davis said. But, once we tore things out and looked at them, we thought it would be really nice to get some light back in the area, which would be the Finance Department; get some light into that area.”
Modernization of the elevator was completed by Schindler Elevator at a cost of $129,800. The new elevator configuration also adds security features that separate public areas from city employee work areas.
“Now, the elevator will go from the first floor to the mezzanine level where City Council Chambers are, and the public can use that,” Davis said. “But to get to the second floor or to the basement, you’ll need a key fob and security access to get to those floors.”
During the renovation, Davis said workers found old desk photos that had fallen between walls, a business card, and an olive oil can from the 1920s. City workers have plans to set some of those items aside for a new time capsule at the building.
“We’re going to put a time capsule together with some of the pictures and things along with other things found during the renovation and seal that away for 50 years,” Davis said.