Springville turns 159 years old on Friday, Sept. 18, and residents are receiving a 70,000-square-foot birthday present.

The new Springville city building, located on the west side of Main Street at approximately 100 South, will officially open on Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4 p.m. and public tours of the building from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The public is invited to attend the ceremony.

The building cost $11.75 million -- an amount that includes the cost of landscaping, parking lots and the purchase and demolition of existing buildings -- and has 30,000 square feet of space on the main floor, 20,000 square feet on the upper floor and 20,000 square feet in the basement.

The building will house the city's planning, finance and information technology departments, administrative personnel, the Springville City Justice Court, the Springville City Council chambers and the Springville Police Station.

City offices will be closed on Monday, Sept. 21, as city employees move from the old building to the new one.

Springville City Attorney John Penrod said the new building was designed to be large enough to accommodate the city services and personnel needed when Springville achieves "build-out," or its largest potential population.

"It's been built for build-out in every department," Penrod said.

Ground was broken for the new building in May of 2008 and its red brick and curved window design mirrors that of the historic Reynolds Building located just to the south. Inside are tiled floors, dark wood accents and a large stained glass window above the main staircase.

On the main floor of the building's south side are the new city council chambers, which include technology including a drop-down screen and projector.

The podium has been designed with USB ports and a monitor inside so speakers can easily hook up their computers and refer to their computer images while presenting. Council members will also have monitors mounted in their desk so they have a clear view of the presentation.

"They tried as much as possible to accommodate the technologies that are out there," Penrod said.

On the top floor of the south side are the administration offices. The mayor's office, which is located inside the building's highest tower, has an extremely high ceiling and three long windows offer a beautiful view of the mountains.

Housed in the building's north side are the police station and justice court. The new station, which occupies 26,000 square feet inside the new building, will be an enormous benefit to the police department, said Springville Police Chief Scott Finlayson.

"Currently we have 7,000 square feet that we have 35 employees crammed into," Finlayson said.

Springville Police Department Dispatch Supervisor Carol Huff said in the current dispatch area, the noise level is high because dispatchers have to work so close together. This makes it difficult to concentrate and hear callers.

"The distance we have between the consoles (in the new building) will help eliminate some of the noise," she said.

A garage door on the west side of the building will allow officers to drive their police cars directly inside of the building, shut the door behind them, then take suspects through another door to the holding cells, which are located next to the justice court. In the old city building, suspects had to be led through the building's lobby to the court, often through the midst of families visiting the city library.

"We're not going to have to have defendants intermingling with children," Penrod said.

The new courtroom feature wooden decorative features and benches for the audience. Defendants can be led from holding cells directly into the courtroom. It also has a sound system, something the current courtroom lacks.

"With this new design, we're going to be able to process cases much more efficiently," Penrod said. "This really is going to be one of the nicest justice courts in the state."

Currently a part-time court, the Springville City Justice Court handles more than 500 cases per month and will likely soon become a full-time court, Penrod said.

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