Firm approved by Council for municipal buildings design

'It'll be quite remarkable'

Simpsonville, S.C. — Simpsonville City Council unanimously approved at the May business meeting a local architect to design new municipal facilities.

City Council voted 7-0 to accept the selection committee's recommendation for DP3 Architects to design a new fire department headquarters and a municipal complex housing City Hall and the police department. The selection committee consisted of City Administrator Dianna Gracely, Police Chief Mike Hanshaw, Councilmember Lou Hutchings of Ward 6, Councilmember Sherry Roche of Ward 4, Mayor Paul Shewmaker and Fire Chief Wesley Williams. 

Gracely told Council that the committee narrowed a pool of six applicants down to two finalists.

"We all agreed we could not go wrong with either firm," Gracely said. "The difference for us was that one firm did have experience building municipal facilities on a park environment and being able to integrate those facilities seamlessly into (City Park), which is very important. We don’t want to take away any of the beauty of City Park; we want to be able to enhance it and add to the experience that people find there."

Council approved earlier in the meeting up to $14 million in municipal bonds to pay for the public buildings near City Park. The plan includes consolidating City Hall and the police department into one municipal complex with reserved space exclusively for courtroom proceedings.

Currently City Hall stands on North East Main Street near the Curtis-Main streets intersection, while the fire department headquarters and police department are wedged between Academy Street and Park Drive off East Curtis Street.

Councilman Matthew Gooch of Ward 1, who made the motion, said it is important that the new buildings "look like they belong" near City Park and "enhance" the area.

Gooch added that City Hall, the police department and fire department headquarters need replacing.

"They have come to the end of their useful life, and we need to work towards the future so future generations and future councils and future administrators and future staff have somewhere ... they can actually functionally work as opposed to just getting by, and it will actually make us more productive and make us better servants to the City,” Gooch said.

A request for qualifications for design and construction management services for new public facilities was issued by City administration in March. Council voted after executive session in the April business meeting to authorize Gracely to enter into a letter of intent to sell City-owned property a few days before the RFQ submission deadline of April 16.

Hutchings sat in for Roche on the Committee for finalist interviews.

"Both of these candidates were excellent, but we felt like this particular candidate was the best for the particular project that we’re working on here," Hutchings said.

Hutchings and Gracely were particularly impressed with one initial idea that DP3 proposed, which would be to put the new public facilities further east down Curtis Street to allow for what Gracely called a "true entrance" to City Park. The move could open up the Park to the public, allowing a showcase of both park and arts and culture presences once renovations of the Simpsonville Arts Center are completed.

"That’s the kind of expertise that we were looking for," Gracely told Council.

Mayor Shewmaker agreed.

"I also liked that they were also very careful to say, 'That’s an idea, but please keep an open mind; we may come up with a better idea;’” Shewmaker said. "For me, it was an epiphany what they suggested. If this idea works, it’ll be quite remarkable.”