Ridgeland puts current City Hall building on the market

Ridgeland's new City Hall is expected to be open by December, and aldermen are already working on an expedited sale of the current building.

Aldermen last week authorized Mayor Gene F. McGee to begin advertising the city hall building unanimously.

"It is more than just advertising for bids," McGee said. "Although that is part of it, there will likely have to be some marketing involved with this project. We also want to ensure that we get the best deal possible."

Board Attorney Jerry Mills said the city could include any number of conditions to accepting bids.

"I have talked to some developers about what we can expect and there is already interest in this building," McGee said. "I think making sure we have the right to reject any and all offers is important."

The board had declared the building surplus property at a previous meeting.

The city acquired the building in 1986. McGee remembers it had housed a printing company and was largely warehouse space.

"I'm not sure how old the building is but we moved in about '86 and it was old then," McGee said.

He added that the building had been "retrofitted" so much that it had proven too costly for the city to keep up.



A plaque at the current City Hall commemorates the dedication of the building on April 14, 1987. Hite B. Wolcott was mayor and McGee was one of six aldermen at the time. The building is at the corner of U.S. 51 and Lake Harbour.

The new $15.9 million 30,000-square-foot City Hall is the first building that will be a part of the New City Center on the corner of Highway 51 and School Street.

The master plan, which includes the new City Hall, was developed and approved in 2008.