Politics & Government

MAYOR: Why We Need to Move City Hall

The Mayor makes his case in a letter to Malden Patch.

On Tuesday, October 23rd, I went before the City Council to brief them on my proposed plans to relocate City Hall.  I am thankful to the council for agreeing to my suggestion to issue Requests for Proposals (RFP) to explore responses to where we could relocate City government services. 

As many of you know, I have long advocated moving City Hall from its current site. Beyond the fact that it’s difficult to get to and navigate once inside, the capital costs to rehabilitate the building is upwards of $15M and the ongoing operating costs will remain extremely expensive to stay.

If we receive an RFP that meets our needs and the council and I decide to accept them and leave City Hall, we will then begin a separate process seeking proposals for the redevelopment of 200 Pleasant Street. What is important to remember is that this RFP will be based upon resident input gathered from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council grant we received in partnership with the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

All of these steps are efforts towards achieving our ultimate goal, which is to stimulate economic development and strengthen the downtown businesses.  Situated next to the MBTA's fifth busiest Orange Line stations, I believe the downtown area will be invigorated by the reconnection of Pleasant Street and the removal of the city hall building, giving the nearly 12,000 daily riders who use the Malden Center T Stop much easier access to our restaurants and stores. 

I will update you once we get something back concrete. In the meantime, please provide us with any comments or suggestions at info@cityofmalden.org

Sincerely,

GARY CHRISTENSON
Mayor, City of Malden


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