Making an historically accurate renovation of an old building is an undertaking that’s sure to present all kinds of problems. The most common, and often the most frustrating, is delays.

    The renovation of Meridian’s historic City Hall has been no exception to the problem of delays, but with the project in its final phase, things finally seem to be proceeding on schedule, according to Finance and Records Director Ed Skipper.

    Originally, the renovation of City Hall was expected to be completed for $7 million to $8 million over the course of two years. That was four years ago, in 2006. Now, the expected total cost of the project has more than doubled to $18 million, and so has the timeline.

    City Hall was built around 1915 in the Beaux-Arts style of architecture. Beginning in the 1950’s, the building was changed little by little to make it more modern both in appearance and function. Unfortunately, these modernizations undermined the original architecture, and then became outdated themselves.

    Before the current renovations began, the ornate plaster ceilings at City Hall were covered up by drop ceilings in order to make room for air conditioning ducts, wood paneling was put up to change the building’s layout, finishes were painted over with a bright, lurid turquoise, and the building went from grand to run-down.

    But when the city decided to renovate the building around 2005, they weren’t planning to fix all of that. They just wanted to make a few structural repairs. It turned out the structure was in worse shape than they thought.

    When the project began, a larger number of problems than anyone imagined were discovered. It was found that everything from iron supports that were rusted to half their former size to a damaged drainage system were in dire need of repair.

    The city found it had gotten itself into a major renovation, and since City Hall is a state designated historic landmark, the renovations have to be historically accurate and are done under the supervision of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

    The delays were in full supply as more and more problems with the building were uncovered, and MDAH required that each of those problems be dealt with without damaging the historic integrity of the building.

    There is also a lawsuit, filed against the project contractor by one of the sub-contractors, in which the general contractor is accused of causing loss of money and time to both the sub-contractor and the City of Meridian.

    The sub-contactor, Evergreene Architectural Arts, is suing the contractor, Panola Construction, along with the project architect, B.B. Archer, and another entity for more than $4 million.

    Evergreene alleges that negligence and incompetence on the part of Panola and Archer have contributed to delays and added costs for both Evergreene and the city. In the lawsuit, Evergreene specifically names the City of Meridian as having incurred delays and costs at the fault of the contractor.

    City officials would not comment, saying the lawsuit is between the general contractor and sub-contractor, and does not involve the city.

    Skipper said the project is currently on schedule for completion by the end of February, 2011.

    “The contractor is proceeding with the job,” he said. “I think pretty much everything is on schedule.”

    The project is currently in phase IV, the final phase in which the interior of the building is renovated.

    Currently, Skipper said, workers are doing ductwork, working on the air conditioning system, preparing floors for the finished flooring products, putting up the studs for interior walls, and completing the tedious process of removing old paint from historic finishes, among other things.

    After the renovation is complete, the furnishings will be added to building, and some minimal landscaping, such as laying grass, will be done. If all goes according to plan, City Hall will be ready for the local government to move back in this Spring.