City Offices on Schedule to Be Completed by September

Work on Novato’s city administration offices at 922 Machin Avenue is continuing and expected to be complete by September, according to city spokeswoman Peggy Flynn.

Most recently, crews put in the exterior wall framing and installed the final pieces of structural steel along and rainwater collectors. They’ve also installed elevator steel and the metal roof deck.

When completed, the new city complex will be a LEED certified building housing about 60 city employees. There will also be a plaza and a 9,000 square foot garage, to reduce impact to on-street parking.

The $14 million project has been criticized as unnecessary in tough economic times. But city officials have defended the construction, saying the new venue will serve Novato for the next 50 years and makes financial sense.

The city is using redevelopment money returned from the state and not the quarter-cent sales tax approved in 2010. State requirements specified that the money be utilized within three years and go to capital improvement projects.

Currently, Novato leases office at 75 Rowland Way for approximately $700,000 a year, a lease that expires this September.