Old city hall building demolished accidentally

RIDGELAND — A portion of the old city hall building was demolished by mistake this week, officials have said.

During the demolition of an old shopping center at the corner of Lake Harbour Drive and Highway 51, the contractor also demolished part of the old city hall building, officials said.

Mayor Gene F. McGee declined to name the contractor, noting any comments on the issue are limited due to likely litigation.

“The contractor made a mistake,” McGee said.

McGee noted the incident happened on Monday, Jan. 15, while the contractor was demolishing the old shopping center behind the old city hall.

The city still owns the building and is looking to sell it.

The shopping center was acquired by the city for demolition to allow for upcoming improvements at the intersection of U.S. 51 and Lake Harbour Drive.

The city is currently waiting to hear from the Mississippi Department of Transportation to finalize plans, according to McGee.

“It will be a little while,” he said.

The shopping center once had a liquor store, a coin laundry business, and other businesses.

The Journal reported in July 2022 that city officials put plans for the coin laundry to expand on hold saying they were not sure what the future held for the building.

Ward 2 Alderman Chuck Gautier acknowledged the traffic issues at the intersection at the time. He argued that traffic coming in and out of the existing building was “horrible” and argued the building was “past its prime.”

“I think the city would benefit from that building not being there,” Gautier said. 

McGee agreed during that meeting that the building could soon become unusable.