Lehi making strides on construction of new City Hall and library; completion on track for early fall
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- The steel-framed structure of Lehi’s new City Hall building is shown during its construction Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.
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- A rendering of Lehi’s soon-to-be-built City Hall and library.
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- The steel-framed structure of Lehi’s new City Hall building is shown during its construction Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.
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- The steel-framed structure of Lehi’s new City Hall building is shown during its construction Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.
For more than half of the 1900s, the Lehi Tabernacle stood as an iconic landmark in the city, serving the community.
Located at the corner of Center Street and 200 West, the Romanesque Revival-style structure was considered a cultural hub and testament to spirituality, according to Lehi historians.
The tabernacle, under the direction of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, began holding services around 1905 but was demolished in 1962.
More than 60 years later, city officials are working to reimagine Lehi’s history.
Last April, Lehi broke ground on a new 60,000-square-foot Civic Center Campus that will be an ode to the Lehi Tabernacle. The facility will house new City Council chambers, a community room, administrative offices and a new library.
It will be located at the corner of 100 North and 100 East, just south of the current City Hall building.
Construction on the new facility began around the middle of May 2024.
Since that time, crews worked to prep the land, installing geo-piers to help stabilize and strengthen the soil beneath the building’s foundation, according to Cameron Boyle, Lehi’s assistant city administrator. Work also was done to enhance the storm drain system and add roadside parking stalls around the campus.
Cement slabs have been poured and the steel framing has been erected, which is visibly noticeable from Lehi’s historic Main Street.
Crews reached a milestone in the project late last month, when the final steel beam for the main tower was placed Jan. 28, marking a big step forward in bringing the facility to life, according to city officials.
“For months, we have watched the contractor erect the steel beams, and it is exciting to now begin to see progress on the roof and exterior of the building,” Boyle said. “As we toured through the building after the beam was set, we were pleased to see the progress on the building and look forward to its completion.”
Crews currently are in the process of installing a fire barrier and the interior framing.
While the Civic Center ultimately will replace the current City Hall, that building will remain in use.
However, the old Lehi library was torn down last August to make way for the new Civic Center.
Boyle said that was a key phase in the project that crews faced early on, though the original plan called for the library to be demolished after the new Civic Center was completed.
“The contractor determined that there wasn’t enough space around the library to allow crews to erect the building without the use of expensive equipment,” Boyle told the Daily Herald.
The library was moved to a temporary location off 100 East just north of State Street in efforts to reduce the cost of construction.
Boyle also noted some delays for crews acquiring supplies for the project, but he says lead contractor SIRQ Construction and VCBO Architecture have been proactive in planning ahead to mitigate the issue of long lead times for supplies.
Crews also have faced minor setbacks due to weather but have adjusted accordingly, he added.
Steve Marchbanks, Lehi’s facilities director, said citizens will start to notice the building’s distinctiveness come alive within the next month and a half as progress continues.
“They will start seeing trusses and the exterior skin going on the building in efforts to get the building dried in. Towards the end of March is when they will start putting the exterior brick up,” Marchbanks said. “That is when the building will feel like it is taking shape.”
The new Civic Center will feature a central tower that displays remnants of the Lehi Tabernacle, with shorter towers on each corner.
Boyle said Lehi officials felt it was important to remember the city’s history by implementing architectural elements in the Civic Center building.
“Lehi has always tried to honor our past while pioneering Utah’s future,” he said.
Among the other elements of the building that commemorate the city’s rich history are conference room names that reference Lehi’s heritage and traditions. Stained glass windows from the historic Fifth Ward building also will be displayed in a few conference rooms.
Lehi officials anticipate the new Civic Center to be completed by the end of October.
