In 1972, Provo City built its first modern city hall to serve a population of 55,000 residents. Fifty years later, the once state of the art building no longer met resident needs and is now being demolished to make way for future development.
A-1 Abatement has begun the three-month process of asbestos abatement and demolition of the site to grade. Today, I took the first swing to begin the work, expected to last through May 2023.
The old Provo City Center (located at 351 W. Center Street) had 63,790 square feet of office and functional space. With city growth, space limitations forced operations to move into other new, remodeled, or leased spaces including the community development department, many public works functions, parks and recreation, and police.
The tearing down of Provo’s old City Center is the final step in moving forward with our visionary redevelopment of downtown Provo. We now begin the process of determining the ‘best and highest use’ of this land for our citizens by rebuilding Fire Station 1 as the first phase of our efforts.
In November 2018, Provo citizens voted for a $69 million bond to replace the structurally failing city hall and police station, in addition to building Fire Station 2, the first new fire station built in 20 years. The new five story, 204,000 square foot building Provo City Hall and public safety headquarters opened July 2, 2022.
The redevelopment of the old Provo City Center creates a legacy opportunity for Provo City to double down on our commitment to downtown. The demolition is the first step in clearing the slate so we can start fresh.
As the second oldest city in Utah, Provo’s downtown truly is the heart of our community. Although we have discussed the future of this property with many developers, it is critical we now take the time to plan and prepare so we maximize the potential of this unique piece of property.
As the market struggles with rising construction costs and interest rates, we will be planning and searching for the right opportunity, the right partner, and the right time for this redevelopment effort. We recognize the planning efforts that have taken place for this property in the past and we plan to build on those efforts to make sure what we build contributes to the stabilization of downtown Provo.
With planning for the entire site still underway, Provo City is excited to announce that Fire Station 1 will be a crucial part of the redevelopment. “The Provo downtown is one of the fastest growing areas of the city. With the addition of thousands of residents, and many more planned, strengthening our fire and emergency medical services in this area is critical. We are excited that this Important project is under way,” said Provo Fire Chief James Miguel.