Photo by Deb Gau Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes walked up the main stairs at the renovated City Hall during a Monday morning tour. While some finishing touches have to be put on the building, the work was complete enough for the city to do a construction walkthrough on Monday morning

MARSHALL — Renovations at Marshall’s City Hall are close to complete, and Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes said the project is still on time and on budget.

City staff went on a final walkthrough of the renovated City Hall on Monday, and the plan is to begin moving some furniture into the building later this week, said City Administrator Sharon Hanson.

“We are very pleased with the architect and general contractor. This was a complex project,” Byrnes said.

Marshall city offices will move from temporary space at the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University back into city hall this summer.

Hanson, Byrnes and Nathan Hrdlichka of Brennan Companies led a tour of the City Hall renovations before the formal walkthrough. Construction at City Hall began last year. The project gutted the existing Marshall municipal building, added 15 feet to the front of the building, and lowered the main floor about two feet to bring it to street level, Hrdlichka said. The floor in the basement also had to be lowered about five-and-a-half inches, he said.

In the course of renovations, builders found one wall that had adjoined the former Marshall Hotel building was several inches out of square, and the city opted to tear out and rebuild the wall.

“We’re really excited about the project, because it’s unique,” said project manager John van Dyck. The plan to lower the building’s main floor was unusual, and the project got more complicated with the demolition of the Marshall Hotel property and the decision to rebuild one wall of City Hall. However, while the City Hall renovations were complex, they were also cost-effective, he said.

Hrdlichka said architects Engan Associates deserved a lot of credit for their design.

The renovation project also replaced city hall’s boiler, HVAC systems, and elevator. The new elevator is ADA-compliant and has more room inside, Hrdlichka said.

While some elements of the new city offices weren’t completely finished on Monday, walls and ceilings were complete, as well as carpeting and painting work. Hanson said the paint colors used are similar to the colors in Marshall’s city logo, like orange, golden yellow and dark blue. Areas of yellow paint on the walls of the main lobby draw visitors’ eyes to service counters and up the main staircase to the second floor.

“It’s meant to be kind of wayfinding,” Hanson said. People can follow the bright color to the city department they’re looking for.

The main floor of the renovated city hall will include some of the city’s most public-facing departments, Community Services and the engineering and building departments. A new city council chamber on the main floor has room for about 50 audience members, as well as drop-down projection screens and a raised dais where council members will sit.

“It’s more for us to be able to see who’s in the crowd, not just in the front row,” Byrnes said.

The council chamber can also be divided into smaller rooms and used for public meeting space, Hanson said.

On the second story of the building, there is more office space for city administration, the finance and assessing departments, and the Marshall Economic Development Authority. Glass-fronted offices and large windows help with visibility, and allow natural light into much of the building, Hanson said.

Hanson said the city still plans to move back to Main Street sometime this summer, although they will continue to lease some computer server space at SMSU. One part of the construction that isn’t finished yet is the plaza next door to City Hall, which was once the site of the vacant Marshall Hotel.

“We do have a concept design for the plaza,” which will go before the city council, and the public, Hanson said. The city does want to get public feedback on the design, she said.