North Augusta officials showed their appreciation to dozens of workers building the palatial municipal center Wednesday with a "topping-off" celebration and barbecue lunch.
The celebration recognized crews for their hard work and for the placement of the highest piece of steel on the four-story City Hall -- its flagpole.
"I know all of these folks over here (residents and employees of the city) are going to be the beneficiaries of what y'all are doing," City Administrator Sam Bennett said. "It's important that they see this in-progress and that they can walk through and get a feel for what y'all do every day. And we do appreciate the hard work."
Civic leaders, city employees, representatives of the city council and Aiken County Commission, and Mayor Lark Jones attended the event.
Columbia-based architectural firm The Boudreaux Group designed the building, which overlooks the Savannah River.
Architect Randy Huth described the view from where the third-floor balcony will be as "absolutely breathtaking."
Huth credited crews from M.B. Kahn Construction Co. and the many subcontractors for their work on the project.
"It only takes a handful of us to draw it (the building), but it takes an army, an army of guys, to build a wonderful building like this," Huth said.
Construction started in July on the $20 million City Hall. It is scheduled to be finished early next year.
The project is being financed through a combination of loans, general obligation bonds, sales tax revenue and other city funds.
"We're on schedule, we're accident-free and those are two great things," Bennett said. "And we're trying to stay within budget."
Bennett said city leaders wanted to show the public what it had to look forward to when the building is completed.
"If this doesn't make you excited standing inside of it ... I don't think anything will," he said.
In addition to government offices, 40 percent of the building is reserved for civic and cultural functions. Plans for the building call for a banquet hall, conference rooms and a small auditorium.
"We're a small town, we're a great town and I think this facility is going to denote both those things very well for folks here in North Augusta, Aiken County and also to our friends across the river we love," Bennett said. "We want (visitors from Georgia) to recognize this is South Carolina when they come across this bridge into North Augusta."
Reach J. Scott Trubey at scott.trubey@northaugustatoday.com.
