Politics & Government

Alpharetta Gets First Look at New City Hall Design

The City Council holds a public update on its City Center project at every meeting, and Monday night it was time to move from the site plan to a city government building.

Alpharetta's lead architect on its City Center project brought a 3-dimensional model and renderings to show the exterior design and size of a new City Hall.

Michael Schwarz hastened to add in his presentation that the color of bricks used in the model and drawings are only used as placeholders. He plans to take actual bricks outside on the City Center site so City Council members can see what they look like under natural lighting. Only then will City Council pick a stye and color of brick.

The building takes advantage of the slope. The front entrance is at street level, but the rear entrance is approximately one floor higher because the land slopes down toward the east. Similarly, the side of City Hall facing the future site of the Alpharetta Library branch has its lower level exposed, offering an opportunity for an entrance directly into a small garden between the two building sites – and natural lighting.

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The other, northern side of the building doesn't allow access to the lower level as it would be underground on this side. City Council chambers would be on this side, with more administration offices on the southern side.

"The roof of the building is designed to mask all of the mechanical equipment," Schwarz said, so no ugly HVAC units will be seen. He said green space will be tucked into both sides of the building on the front of the building, which "further helps to break down the scale of the building within the site."

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