Springfield City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission meetings will move from Historic City Hall to the Springfield Regional Police-Fire Training Center beginning in October. Renovations on City Hall will take place over the next few years, thanks to voter support of the Level Property Tax.
The Oct. 5 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the training center, located at 2620 W. Battlefield. City Council will host its first meeting there at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2.
Doors open for public meetings at 5:30 p.m., with the meeting room opening at 6 p.m. Parking is available in front (north side) of the building and along the east side. Security check-in procedures remain the same and the seating capacity mirrors that of City Council Chambers, the previous meeting room. The facility is located on a City Utilities bus line and is handicap accessible.
The City’s Department of Public Information & Civic Engagement will continue to live stream the meetings at CityView.Springfieldmo.gov and on Facebook.com/CityofSGF.
The design for the renovated City Hall will include a new fire stairwell and elevator capable of accommodating medical emergencies, new mechanical and electrical systems, information technology and security upgrades, new public restrooms, renovated office spaces, and Council Chambers. The building most recently housed City Council Chambers, Springfield Fire Department’s administrative staff, the City’s Risk Management Division, and other City staff in office spaces that have not significantly changed since 1976.
The City budgeted $6,377,000 for the renovations, funded through the City’s Level Property Tax, approved by voters in 2017. The original building was constructed in 1891 as a federal building and post office. A major addition was designed and constructed on the north end of the building and wrapped the east side of the building in 1913. The interior would go through major renovations with the addition of a mailing vestibule and a small elevator by the stairs.
In 1936, the courthouse and post office moved to a different location and the building became City Hall.
In 1973, City Council designated Historic City Hall as a site on the Springfield Historic Register. Six years later, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 27, 1979.