Fitchburg holds groundbreaking for City Hall rehab

FITCHBURG - “Fitchburg is open for business.”

The city celebrated a major milestone Thursday in its effort to restore the 166-year-old City Hall with a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new city government campus.

“Fitchburg’s commitment to restoring City Hall on Main Street is a commitment to its residents, that municipal government is and will always be accessible to its people and accountable to its citizenry where all can see it,” Fitchburg City Council President Michael Kushmerek said. “For those who have made and will make an investment in our downtown, this is a commitment, on behalf of the City, that Fitchburg is open for business.”

The building at 718 Main St. was declared unsafe for habitation in 2012 after a broken roof truss was found. The city government offices were moved to rented space at 166 Putnam Place and have remained there as the city determined what to do with the old building.

“In City Hall’s many scars and many battles, there is one common denominator that holds true today,” Mayor Stephen L. DiNatale said. “Fitchburg City Hall still stands as a symbol of pride, resilience and strength.”

It took a community effort to build the original town hall building, Mr. DiNatale said, and likewise it has been a community effort to renovate City Hall.

“In my 2017 State of the City address, I made a promise to you that municipal government would return to 718 Main St.,” Mr. DiNatale said.

Lamoureux Pagano Associates conducted a feasibility study in 2016 to determine if the 1953 Greek Revival building could be repaired at a reasonable price.

Declaring it “a tremendous day for the city of Fitchburg," state Rep. Stephan Hay, D-Fitchburg, said the building project is one more step that the city, under the leadership of Mr. DiNatale, has taken to bring Main Street back and revitalize downtown.

State Sen. Dean A. Tran, R-Fitchburg, made a pledge of “complete support” to Mr. DiNatale and the city, as well as offering the state’s help with funding and completion of the project.

The $23.5 million renovation project includes 700 Main St., the former Bank of America building recently purchased by the city. That building will become part of the City Hall complex, along with construction of a two-story parking deck envisioned behind City Hall. Plans also include a City Council chamber and adequate meeting space.