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In downtown Monmouth, the City Hall building – a long-standing fixture on Main Street – has undergone a stunning renovation, seamlessly blending modern design with a nod to the area’s rich history and natural resources.

The ambitious project saw the demolition of the original 1.1-acre site, which housed the two-story City Hall and Volunteer Hall buildings. After a thorough assessment, the design team determined that replacing the structure entirely would be more cost-effective than attempting to renovate the aging facilities.
The result is a striking 12,800-square-foot, two-story mass timber building that now serves as the new home for the city’s Finance, Building, Community Development and Administration departments. Complementing the main building is a one-story Municipal Court/City Council chamber, creating a seamless and comprehensive civic center.

More than just a functional space, the modernized community spaces pay homage to the area’s local natural resources and historic character. A public plaza has been designed to support festivals and community activities, fostering a sense of togetherness and civic pride. Significant site work, including grading and the integration of existing utilities and city streets, ensured a seamless transition and minimal disruption to the surrounding infrastructure.

The project’s success can be attributed to the exceptional collaboration between the construction team, design professionals and the city of Monmouth.

Timberlab, Swinerton’s affiliate company, employed cutting-edge BIM technology to create detailed 3D models of the mass timber structure, enabling early planning, visualization and cost-effective decision-making.

The combination of materials, including brick, local timber, steel, glass and solar canopies, was curated to honor downtown Monmouth’s historic essence while celebrating the local timber industry. The result is a harmonious fusion of indoor and outdoor spaces, bathed in natural light.

Despite the challenges of constructing on a busy Main Street, the project was completed without a single recordable injury, a testament to the team’s meticulous planning, scheduling and communication efforts.

The city’s project representative, Otak, played a pivotal role in pushing the project to stay on budget. Otak worked with the team to produce alternate means and methods of construction to meet budget, including implementing a design-build mechanical package.