If you are craving that new government building smell, Johns Creek is moving to its new municipal complex later this month.
When it opens March 25 at 11360 Lakefield Drive, the only city departments missing from the new building will be the municipal court and the police department; those will move from 11445 Johns Creek Parkway later this spring, and beware that some city meetings will be held at the former building there until June 2019.
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The City Council approved $24 million of funding — $10 million to buy the 75,000-square-foot building and $14 million for renovations and a 16,000-square-foot expansion — for the project, which will consolidate city hall and other departments like the city clerk, fire, human resources, parks and recreation and community development.
Future plans for the new three-story building, which sits on 26 acres of land in Technology Park, include a linear park near a lake.
That office park area is where city leaders have said they want a dense district featuring retail, office, residential and entertainment options. Officials said that would help the young city become less dependent on property taxes, which they feel isn't sustainable for the city budget.
Johns Creek, which incorporated in 2006, has an estimated population of about 85,000 residents.
"This will be one of the most significant moves we have made in the city's 10 years of existence, and one that we believe can propel us to even greater heights in terms of service to the residents of Johns Creek," Mayor Mike Bodker said of the municipal complex plan in December 2016.
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Johns Creek claims on its website that this consolidated facility will "ultimately save taxpayer funds" but didn't specify how.
According to Fulton County records, the building was built in 1997 and Johns Creek bought it from the Georgia Municipal Association in February 2017. City hall moved into temporary digs at 10700 Abbotts Bridge Road in September 2017.
And don’t worry, the phone number for city hall is still the same: 678-512-3200.
On Friday, the city posted a video on YouTube showing sweeping drone footage, construction time lapse photos, and a look at workers piecing together the building.
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