Bold moves create a showstopping new town hall in Ashland

Pam Scruggs, Proposal Manager, PMA Architecture

Driving over the train tracks that run through the heart of Ashland’s downtown, visitors can’t help but feel that they have arrived somewhere special. Nicknamed “The Center of the Universe” by the town’s enthusiastic 16-year former mayor, Dick Gillis, the Town of Ashland is beloved by its residents. With its 100-year-old train station, beautiful old homes, and string of locally run shops and restaurants lining Railroad Avenue, the downtown is alive with color, activity, and a sense of history.

Afternoon visitors to Ashland’s downtown in October of this year were greeted by trees flashing the brilliant oranges and reds announcing fall had arrived and by the local restaurants along Railroad Avenue percolating with lunch-time crowds as passenger and cargo trains rolled by. However, just beyond the railroad crossing, visitors would have been pleasantly surprised to find a new, modern focal point that has quickly become the newest jewel in the crown of this small, quirky community.

The gleaming fa?ade of the new Ashland Town Hall rises from behind the trees across the tracks, a show-stopping center for town operations which, until recently, were crammed into an aging, sequestered building whose best days had long passed. The story of how the town brought the new building to life is one of local government leadership, an engaged community, and a talented team of designers working together to make it happen.

Step 1 – What to do about a failing building?

The idea of a new or renovated building had been deliberated by Ashland’s council long before the town’s current manager, Josh Farrar, arrived on the scene as assistant town manager in 2006. “One of the first meetings I ever sat in was about a space needs study to look at renovating the town hall, but the project never rose to the top of the to-do list. A decade later, it became clear we had to do something,” he recalls.

To be sure, by 2016 the old building was rife with issues. Sewer lines under the concrete needed to be replaced. The roof was leaking. There were cracks in the walls. “Initially we thought renovation would be cheaper. But simply put: every system was failing. Name one, it was bad,” observes Farrar. “The HVAC was dead or dying, the plumbing was in horrible shape. We had sinking on both ends of the building we had to jack up. It’s not a professional way to put it, but we basically had the equivalent of a beer funnel in an office to drain rainwater from the ceiling down into a plant!”

The 1955 building had already been through several renovations and for all practical purposes had ceased to be functional. “It felt spliced together,” says Ingrid Stenbjorn, the town engineer. Buried plumbing, thousands of dollars spent chasing roof leaks, and other expensive maintenance complications plagued the building.

Not only was the deteriorating building a problem for town staff, it also presented an incredibly confusing arrangement for residents trying access services. Some employees worked out of the original town hall while Public Works staff, including Stenbjorn in the engineering department, were based in an old fire station across the street. “There was nowhere to expand. We couldn’t go back, we couldn’t go forward, and the foundation wouldn’t enable us to go up either,” she remembers.

The dream was to have a healthy building where the whole team could work in one place. “The old building couldn’t accommodate that,” says Farrar.

But change is never easy, and the past has a way of asserting itself. The whole town knew the old building and it had a strong community presence. The town hall had served many functions over the years including being home to the town’s police and volunteer fire stations and had even been immortalized in the town’s logo.

“Constructing a new town hall is a generational project,” says Matt Reynal, the assistant town manager and finance director. “We knew a new building would need to evoke a similar response.”.

Step 2 – Making the case for change

The town officials and staff needed a plan to not only re-evaluate the old building but to also build community consensus for an upgrade. To help with this, the town sought out a professional design team with the right sort of experience.

Farrar notes, “We needed someone who’d done this before and had the expertise of getting through a municipal process. It’s not the private sector where the CEO has all the say – you have a public input process. We needed someone to ask the questions we didn’t even know we should be asking.”

In a similar vein, Reynal observes, “We also needed professional designers involved in our public meetings to translate community input into actionable design recommendations.”

A committee made up of town leadership and citizens interviewed various design teams and selected PMA Architecture out of Newport News to lead the project. The first step was for structural and mechanical engineers to conduct a formal assessment of the building. The results of this study were unambiguous – a new building was the best option for the town.

“It was a sick building,” recalls architect Jeff Stodghill of PMA Architecture. “There was mold. They couldn’t keep the water out. There were toilets that didn’t flush. Their building was failing them.”

The design team presented their findings during a public engagement session at a local school. This allowed the design team to answer questions, and present possible solutions. For the staff at PMA Architecture, this was familiar territory.

“Community engagement isn’t an option. It’s baked into the cake,” says Farrar. A steering committee comprised of one-third local citizens helped drive this effort. Farrar was keenly aware of the importance of making sure the committee was seen as a reliable arbiter for the community. “You must convince the community of the need and that you are following the right process to solve it,” he notes. “We didn’t just pick friends of the project. The committee included folks that we knew would give us honest critique.”

Reynal adds, “We also wanted to hear from the community on what design and functional elements they wanted to see in a new town hall.”

So, what was the community concerned about? Spending money, predictably, topped the list. Questions included: Was it better to renovate or build new? Did the town government need a new building? Could town operations simply move into an empty shopping center?

In the end, the town chose to build a new structure on town-owned property across the street from Railroad Avenue in the heart of the downtown. Beyond the practical reasons for pushing ahead, there were other considerations, like employee morale. “You want a place you’re proud to work, and I don’t know that going into an old grocery store would really do that for our employees. That wasn’t the right approach for us,” concludes Farrar.

The town’s citizens remained engaged even after that decision had been reached. Community members were interested in being a part of deciding where the new town hall would be located, how many stories it would be, and what it might look like. They cared about Ashland’s past and wanted the new building to reflect that.

And, of course, there was the cost.

“Up until that moment, Ashland was debt free,” remembers Farrar. “That’s rare for a Virginia local government and we were proud of that, but we knew this was a large enough project that we’d have to take out some level of debt.”

Town leadership worked with financial advisors to develop a funding strategy. They packaged the town hall project with major renovations to the municipal pool and funded it with a 20-year bank loan, supplemented by some unreserved funds. The next year, the loan was refinanced down to 1.99 percent.

“Our timing worked out very well and the project ended up being very affordable for us,” observes Farrar.

Step 3 – A vision takes shape

Architecturally, the final design for the building provided a 21st century solution that would be well-adapted to Ashland’s unique character. A two-story glass fa?ade would reach upward, carving a distinctive shape in the skyline and bookending what Stodghill calls a “new urban edge.” Furthermore, the new building was envisioned as an extension of the downtown with outdoor event space and convenient parking. Designed to reflect elements of the iconic local train station just a few blocks away, the new building would feature an overhanging roof with gathering space and seating below, fronted by large white columns. The selection of interior materials, finishes and furniture, such as white subway tile and the red benches in lobby areas would also speak to the train station “vibe.”

“We spent many hours going over the requirements prepared by our steering committee, pouring over preliminary designs, and meeting regularly with Jeff and the design team. PMA just ran with it and put it together. It was a smooth process and the biggest project I’ve worked on with the town,” observes Stenbjorn. “While we have staff engineers, we do not have staff architects. As much as we want to think we can do it all, we can’t. We relied heavily on the design team and that was really helpful – especially with aesthetics.”

The floorplan addressed the unique needs of town employees working in specialized jobs. It provided space for everything from water testing to the storage and review of full-size architectural and engineering plans as well as a formal town council meeting room. The plans also included considerations for the convenience of employees such as a mud room and a bike sharing room. A spacious new breakroom replaced what had been just a coffee pot in a hallway in the old building.

Moreover, the project was designed according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles. The plans for the building and site featured many sustainable elements such as a permeable paver parking lot with electric vehicle charging stations, outdoor planters designed to catch rainwater from the roof system and nurture native plant gardens, and high efficiency mechanical and electrical systems.

“As a small community, we took a big project all the way from concept to finish and, I think, did a really, really good job of it.?I’m very proud of that, and I hope our staff are, but really, I hope the community is proud of their government. It’s a reflection of a good staff and a good set of elected officials doing good work on behalf of the community.”

- Town Manager, Josh Farrar

Step 4 – “We love it!”

The town hall project was the subject of at least a dozen public meetings. Progress updates, including time-lapse videos during construction, were featured on the town website, providing “a record for us to see the progress and for the community to see it too,” says Stenbjorn.

“The decision to tear down the old building was tough. As many troubles as it had, it was beloved and one of the picturesque buildings of our town. We had to work through that sentiment with the community,” says Farrar. “Once the landscaping went in – that was the moment when people started going, ‘Oh! I see what you’re doing!’,” he says.

The town received “very positive feedback during the design process, and even more so upon completion of the building,” says Reynal. “Feedback from our open house was amazing. The community especially enjoys the openness of the town hall lawn with the building set to the western edge of the site, opening the rest of the lot for the Farmers Market, picnics, and other gatherings.”

Mayor Steve Trivett, who held the scissors at the ribbon cutting, summed up what everyone was feeling in just three words: “We love it!”

The result – Wins abound

For staff, getting everyone together and into a safe environment was the biggest win. “And it’s a comfortable and productive working environment,” says Farrar. “Having the engineering team in the same building, the extra office space and more windows, and room to grow – it’s having an impact. When I’m meeting with state representatives or Economic Development prospects, it’s a place I’m proud to bring them. It presents a much more professional, clean face to the public that says, ‘These people know what they’re doing’. That’s been a benefit ,” says Farrar.

In terms of budgeting, Reynal enjoys a smoother forecasting and planning process now that the town is unburdened by an outdated facility with its maintenance headaches and unpredictable expenses.

The final product also brought additional bonuses. “We have more parking downtown. That’s good for the entire economy of our downtown and for the visitor experience and the new community gathering space is a wonderful amenity for the public,” reports Farrar.

Asked to name a favorite building feature, several elements resonate. The view from the second story overlooking the downtown is a staff favorite. “I also like that the town hall is now the backdrop to the end of downtown. As you come over the tracks, you have something framing the downtown,” says Farrar.

It’s no surprise that residents have been spotted outside the new town hall taking pictures, modeling clothing, and even having wedding portraits made. The covered “front porch” with Adirondack chairs is popular too.

“It’s right outside of my office window and I hear people chatting as they sit there,” says Farrar.

“It has such a community feel,” adds Stenbjorn, who especially loves the permeable paver parking lot. “It’s aesthetically pleasing and helped with our environmental requirements, but even more, it gives me, and everybody here, that ‘feel good’ element of doing something for the environment.”

Farrar sums up the success of the endeavor by (literally) bringing it all back home: “In one project we were able to meet customer service needs, employee needs, and our health and safety needs. We now have a one-stop-shop where people can get planning, finance, and public works answers – and even pool passes – without having to remember which building to go to. Now that it’s done and in its final state, there is a sense of civic pride in the building. It’s an element of a bigger picture and becoming part of the fabric of the community. It’s even starting to show up in custom prints – my wife bought one!”

About the author: A William & Mary graduate, Pam Scruggs has worked in the Architecture / Engineering industry since 1991. She serves as a Proposal Specialist for PMA Architecture.

About PMA Architecture: ?Located in Newport News, Virginia, PMA Architecture has served Virginia local governments since the 1970s. The firm specializes in architecture, interior design, urban design and historic preservation. PMA Architecture is proud to be a VML Silver Community Business Member.