Two years after voters approved a proposition calling for a new municipal building and safety complex, Buda residents and officials are starting to see results.
Last month, construction crews began installing steel columns and beams for the safety complex, while concrete slabs have been poured for the new city hall and library, which will all be located along north Main Street, said David Marino, Buda public information officer.
“Our crew is working very hard,” Marino said.
“Crews are progressing nicely,” Marino said of the construction schedule even with delays due to inclement weather.
Marino said residents can expect to see the infrastructure and utilities start to coalesce, as well as curb and gutter installation and parking lots for the three buildings coming in the next couple of months.
Marino said the parking lot for the safety building will be constructed before the library then city hall with the decorative concrete will be poured last.
“We are so excited,” Marino said, “This is something we have been planning on for a long time.”
Buda Mayor Todd Ruge said he was pleased with the progress of the municipal site and the changes that occur on a daily basis.
“You drive by every day and there’s something new to be added,” Ruge said. He estimated the construction is on schedule barring any potential weather delays over the summer.
“With the public safety building, people would have to walk back around the fences to see the progress being made but with city hall, people can see the beams being erected from Main Street and it gives the public a chance to see what they voted for is coming to fruition.” David Marino, Buda public information officer
While there were bumps in the road, including moving a large heritage oak, Ruge said seeing the development play out is a breath of fresh air.
“It’s one thing to see the vision on paper, but to see the footprint and how it lays out is completely different,” Ruge said.
Now the city turns its focus on the remaining four propositions. He said the city is going “full steam ahead” on all propositions, in order to avoid the prospect of construction costs increasing over time.
“We’ve seen other communities that have run into that, where they pass the bond, but not get to the projects until later, and then they were more expensive than they figured,” Ruge said. “We’re going full steam ahead and we want to squeeze every bit of value out of the bonds as we can.”
Marino said if work crews maintain this momentum the public safety building should be complete by November or December of this year and the library and city hall should be complete and open by April 2018.
“We (the city of Buda) are really happy and looking forward to completion,” Marino said.
