City Departments Moving to New Site

The city of Palmdale’s development service departments are busy moving into a new City Hall, which will be open to the public next Wednesday.

The two-story, 30,000-square-foot building, which features Spanish-style architecture, will consolidate such city departments as public works, building and safety, and economic development. Previously, the departments were scattered throughout the city.

“What we’ve created is a one-stop shop for people who have to do business with the city frequently,” said Leon Swain, deputy director of public works.

This consolidation is the second phase of Palmdale’s Civic Center Building Plan, which will cost an estimated $14 million. The program was inaugurated in 1997 with the building of Palmdale’s Poncitlan Civic Center Square.

Upcoming projects include the construction of a courthouse complex and the remodeling of the old city hall, formerly a school district office, to accommodate more city departments. The final phase will be the renovation of the city’s Cultural Center, also located in the Civic Center complex.

“Our long-term plan is to surround the Civic Center Square with a combination of retail stores and government buildings,” Swain said.

The city needed to make improvements, he said, because of the area’s growing population. In the 1980 census, the city had slightly more than 12,000 residents. City officials expect the 2000 census to record approximately 122,400 residents.

“The city has grown so rapidly over the last decade we’ve had to live with facilities that were built for other purposes,” Swain said. “It was through a concerted effort that we decided we needed to consolidate as many of the city functions as possible.”