Johns Creek Finalizes Plans To Move Into New City Hall

JOHNS CREEK, GA -- Months after the purchase of a 75,000-square-foot office building to establish a permanent home for city operations, the city of Johns Creek has approved a series of real estate agreements that will set into a motion a timeline for a move into its new digs.

Readers may recall the city purchasing the office building, including its 340 parking spaces, at 11360 Lakefield Drive for $9.4 million, a facility designated for its new city hall and public safety complex.

The city currently leases space in two separate buildings, and the move to a consolidated facility will ultimately save taxpayer funds and provide an efficient building for government, police, fire and courts to serve citizens. The location also backs up onto a 20-acre linear public park Johns Creek plans to develop as early as 2018.

The new location was purchased with several tenants leasing space from the previous owner. The leases for the building were set to expire in 2019. The city currently leases two buildings, with leases expiring in 2017.

The city intended to extend current leases and begin renovations on the new City Hall in late 2019 and move in to the facility in 2020. Shortly after the city bought the building, its main tenant, Movius Interactive Corporation, expressed a desire to downsize their footprint and terminate their lease early.

This provided the city the opportunity to accelerate plans to occupy the building, so the Council on Monday approved a termination agreement with Movius Interactive Corporation that concludes a mutual early termination of the lease agreement by Aug. 1 in exchange for a lump sum payment to the city for $1.4 million.

In consideration of the accelerated time frame, Johns Creek will compensate Movius Interactive Corporation up to $100,000 for moving and transition costs. Mayor Mike Bodker said he is grateful to Movius Corporation for their contributions to the business community in Johns Creek.

“While the city could have kept the lease in place and collected rent through 2019, the city is eager to move ahead with plans to consolidate city functions into one facility and save taxpayer funds,” added. “This agreement is beneficial to both parties and the City Council and I thank Movius Corporation for coming to terms in a timely manner.”

The conclusion of this lease agreement now allows Johns Creek to establish a schedule for renovating the new facility and conclude existing office leases to accommodate this move.

Earlier this month, the city agreed to a short term extension for the police department headquarters that will end in December 2018 and allows for the city to extend the leases further for four 6-month options, if needed.

The lease for the current city hall space expires Sept. 30, and the city was able to negotiate a reasonable extension of its existing lease for one year with four 6-month options the city could exercise if necessary.

However, a difficult decision was made to leave 12000 Findley Road at the conclusion of the existing lease to move into a less expensive facility at 10700 Abbotts Bridge Road while construction on the new city hall is performed.

This decision is expected to save the city between $150,000 and $650,000 (depending on when it moves into the new City Hall), compared to the cost of extending the current lease agreement, including costs to transition to the new facility.

City Council and other public meetings will be held at the current Johns Creek Police Department court room at 11445 Johns Creek Parkway until the new city hall is completed. Police and court operations will also remain in its current building until the new city hall is ready for occupation.

Renovations of the new City Hall facility are expected to take 12 to 18 months to be complete.

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