Courtesy Orem City

Renderings for the new Orem City Center were presented during the city council’s work session Tuesday.

While there is still tweaking to do before the final drawings, the architects are comfortable with the current direction of the plans.

The building of the new city center is scheduled to begin in spring 2023.

A featured change is the addition of a basement on the west wing of the building which will be used for technical equipment and storage. It can also be used for offices, if needed, in the future.

Seismic standards have been met in both wings of the building, but the west wing — in which the city council chambers, mayor/administrative offices and emergency command center are to be housed — will be built a step higher in order for the emergency operations to continue working during an emergency.

Courtesy Orem City

The new building will be about 70,000 square feet, compared to the current city hall, which is about 48,000 square feet. According to Jamie Davidson, city manager, the current city hall is not a good use of space.

“The new one will be far more efficient,” Davidson said, adding that it is being built for growth and use in the decades to come as needed.

The ground floor of the west wing will house the city council, a community meeting room, the finance department, information technology, fitness and public services including the 311 center.

The two wings of the building are connected by an atrium style lobby that opens to the third floor. Visually, you can see through the building from south to north.

The second floor would house the fire department administration offices, emergency operations (which is currently in the public safety building) and development services.

The third floor would include the mayor and administration offices, human resources, city attorneys, the recorder’s office and code enforcement.

“This is a lot more efficient,” said Mayor Dave Young. His assessment earned unanimous agreement from the council.

The exterior of the building is not completely decided, but will have a lot of brick, concrete and glass. The city will try to save many of the trees on the property, but others have root systems that are problematic to construction.

The plaza on the north end of the building is between the city hall and the library hall and can be designed for several uses in coming years.

It is hoped the city will sign off on the concept by October. While the cost is still not completely tied down because of design tweaks, Davidson said it is in the range set by the city and will not need a bond.

Newsletter