by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Legislation is working its way through City Council that would appropriate $906,705 to cover maintenance costs at the Ed Ball Building on Hogan Street from May through September.
This will cover the unbudgeted needs and allow the City to purchase the property, which will be used to help consolidate City offices.
The City is in the process of purchasing the 11-story, 400,000 square foot building for approximately $23 million from Pennsylvania-based American Financial Realty Trust and one of the City’s Real Estate Division’s biggest concerns was the maintenance of the building once the City closed on it because it was an unbudgeted item.
The funds are coming from anticipated rents that the City will collect from Ball Building tenants such as Wachovia, the General Services Administration and a few small retail outlets on the first floor.
The City’s chief of research, Jeff Clements, explained the money is not coming from a City reserve or some other fund, but rather funds that will essentially be collected in the form of rent and almost immediately used to reimburse the City for various building maintenance costs it will incur as owner and operator of the building.
According to a City breakdown, those costs include $288,150 for utilities, $353,055 for janitorial equipment maintenance, $80,500 for electrical HVAC and elevator services and $185,000 for security guard and parking services.
The City plans to close on the building early next month and securing this funding was imperative to convincing the Real Estate Division to go through with the purchase.
Once the City gains control of the building, leaders plan to start consolidating many, but certainly not all, of the City’s divisions.
This plan, according to Chief of Special Initiatives and Communications, Susie Wiles, goes back to the Delaney administration. Under former Mayor John Delaney, the City set aside $10 million to build a structure on A. Philip Randolph Boulevard that would house such divisions as Planning and Building Inspection. Because it wasn’t for sale at the time, the Ball Building wasn’t a consideration. Wiles said the plans for the new building are now on hold while the City completes a study that will help determine spatial needs of each department and where that department should be located in relation to City Hall.
“We will be finished with our comprehensive space plan review in the next few weeks,” said Wiles. “That plan looks at our needs now and on the 10-year horizon. This idea does date back to the Delaney administration and it’s a way to get our offices out of rental spaces and into buildings we own.”
The Ed Ball Building will be able to house many of the City employees that are now scattered all over downtown. Several divisions are located in the Annex, the former City Hall at Newnan and Bay, a valuable piece of property adjacent to the Hyatt Riverfront. The Florida Theatre also houses City offices and others are located at 930 Liberty St. Between the Ball Building and the old Haverty’s Building across from City Hall on Laura Street, many of those offices will be relocated much closer to the St. James Building.
“The Ed Ball Building will not answer every need we have, but it will help a lot,” said Wiles.
According to Interim Chief of Public Buildings Lynn Westbrook, the Ball Building won’t require any major renovations or upgrades.
“It’s in good shape. That’s part of the purchase agreement,” said Westbrook. “We have to convert the bathrooms to be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.
“We are hoping to close on the building early next month. That’s our goal.”