Turning a downtown eyesore area into a civic and cultural jewel.

When the City of Boynton Beach undertook redevelopment of four downtown blocks it would be a complex, years-long, multi-partner effort fraught with risk. Replacing 16 acres of run-down structures and spaces, the new Town Square would eventually boast new utilities, roads, parks, playgrounds, an amphitheater and amenities, a new City Hall and Library, a fire station, parking garages, housing, a civic center, children’s museum and more. Haskell was selected as the project’s lead design-builder and took on one of the project’s highest profile structures — the four-story City Hall and Library.

Haskell created a multi-use civic building with unique coastal flair.

Progressive design-build delivery — the first such P3 delivery of this complexity and type attempted in the state of Florida — meant early and extensive collaboration between the owner, designer and contractor. GMPs had to be completed when conceptual design was just 15 percent complete to secure funding. Along with demolishing the old structure, Haskell designed and constructed the new 110,000-square-foot City Hall and Library, including site utilities. The new building included a two-floor library, a business incubator space, City Commission Chambers, administrative offices, city service divisions, study rooms, reception areas and conference rooms for civic, business or social gatherings.

On-time delivery of an early project helps set for a thriving downtown hub.

City officials credit the progressive design-build process and experience of the Haskell team as key to the evolving project’s successful completion on time. Despite the highly complicated delivery, escalating costs, weather issues, changing codes and the COVID-19 pandemic, Haskell met the aggressive schedule and even returned project savings along the way. Haskell was also selected to construct a 2,700-ton Central Energy Plant (CEP) that serves chilled water to the new City Hall facility and the other future developments in the downtown area. The City Hall and Library earned the designation of being One Green Globes Certified for accomplishments in sustainable building design and operations.