Revised Plans for City Offices to be Shown at Open House

The city of Novato planning department is sharing revised drawings of the approved for construction starting in 2012.

A new building for 60-plus employees is to take shape at Machin Avenue and Cain Lane, site of a city-owed parking lot a few yards from and across Machin from the . The plans include a 22,000-square-foot building for between $12 million and $15 million designed by RMW Architecture and Interiors of San Francisco.

The plan to build new offices, by the Novato City Council this spring, has been met with cheers as well as jeers. The council’s decision was met with support from people who believe in a concentration of city buildings in , a nod to plans first drawn out more than 30 years ago. But say the new building is not a smart way for the city to spend upwards of $15 million in this economy and that there aren’t enough good reasons to have city employees occupying a building four days a week on a prime chunk of Old Town real estate.

The city leases offices at 75 Rowland Way for about $700,00 per year. The lease expires in 2013 and the monthly cost is expected to double — from $50,000 to $100,000 — if a new home for the employees is not ready.

Initial designs were before the city’s Design Review Commission. The architects considered feedback — some of which included criticism that it looked too much like a motel — and made some tweaks to the rough-draft plans.

New designs are to be shown at an open house at 6 p.m. Oct. 19 at Novato City Hall. The Design Review Commission will start its meeting in the council chambers at 7:30 p.m. to review the building again.

On Oct. 25, the Novato City Council will be asked to consider the public comments and those of the Design Review Commission and then provide more input about the scope and look of the building.

In addition to the attached photos, full schematic drawings and site maps are available here. City planners encourage residents to review the design plans and attend the meetings to help guide the ongoing refinement of the plans.