VIRGINIA BEACH — Renovations to Virginia Beach’s Municipal Center buildings following the May 31, 2019, mass shooting are costing $8.4 million more than originally budgeted. The City Council will soon consider moving money from other projects to cover the gap.
The overrun adds roughly 10% to the capital improvement project, bringing the total cost up to $93 million. The total includes an increase of more than 25% on the $53 million construction contract, which will require the City Council’s approval.
Cost inflation, supply chain impacts, unforeseen circumstances and scope of work changes have impacted the project.
“It’s due to a lot of the same factors we’ve seen on other projects as we’ve gone through the pandemic and the post-pandemic inflation,” said L.J. Hansen, director of public works, during a Tuesday City Council meeting.
Three municipal buildings are undergoing renovations and each of them have been renumbered. They include: old City Hall (now Building 3), Building 2 (now Building 11) and Building 11 (now Building 33).
The city’s municipal center was the site of the 2019 mass shooting, when a disgruntled city employee killed 12 people and injured six others before he was fatally shot by police. Nearly 400 people, including staff from four departments, worked in former Building 2. They were relocated to temporary, leased offices.
“This was right after 5/31,” said City Manager Patrick Duhaney at Tuesday’s meeting. “The City Council made a decision that no employee that was in Building 2 would have to come back to Building 2.”
The additional $8.4 million Hansen is requesting now would cover $2.4 million in floor plan changes in Building 33, $1.5 million increase in cost of furniture and demountable walls, and $500,000 to soundproof police interrogation rooms, among other items.
The project has already included nearly $12 million in construction change orders including relocating and upgrading data center equipment, adding storm water structures and installing ballistic glass in former Building 2, which was renovated into a police headquarters. Most of the renovation work to former Building 2 has been completed and police staff started working there this year.
The main entrance of the Colonial-style three-story brick building is now adjacent to the new City Hall, a separate $50 million project, which opened in 2022.
First look at renovations to building where Virginia Beach mass shooting occurred
Former City Hall, now referred to as Building 3, has been undergoing renovations for two years and completion is expected in the spring. There have been some delays including asbestos remediation and the need for a waiver that was granted by the City Council for the use of synthetic slate on the roof. Public utilities and planning employees will move into the building next summer.
Construction on Building 33, which was the former police headquarters on Princess Anne Road, began in March after the police department headquarters relocated. Public works and information technology staff will occupy it by next winter.
Hansen said money from two other city capital improvement projects — future relocation of the Beach Maintenance Facility and upgrades at the Central Plant — could be transferred to cover the municipal center funding gap. Hansen said funding for those projects could be reinstated at a later date.
The City Council will vote on the transfer option in September.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
