City Hall
Only a few short months ago city hall employees were crammed into a small 900 square foot building built in 1925. Long realizing the need for more space, the city fathers purchased the vacated post office building on Cherry Street. In 2000, the city purchased the old post office building for $175,000. Since then, extensive planning and hard work have all been expended to produce Jesup’s new city hall. On July 27, 2005, the city officially moved into the newly renovated city hall building. Built in 1936, the building was used as the city’s post office until May 2002. Renovation took about 2 ½ years and cost slightly above $400,000 of capital funds.
Adapting the1936 building to meet the city’s needs included gutting the building. While the Department of Corrections did about 90 % of the work, the city contracted out some of the mechanical work, such as the heating and air system and elevator. In order to utilize prison labor, the city was required to hire an architect—Buckley and Associates from Swainsboro was hired, but some local decorators helped with the interior décor. The city also called on the expertise of its employees for input on furnishing the building. Mahogany wood was chosen to blend with the original marble walls and terrazzo tile on the old post office’s floors.
Making the building accessible included installing a new set of stairs in the front lobby to downstairs, installing drop ceilings, and redoing the electrical system. One part of the renovation involved closing up some of the extensive corridors and catwalks that the U.S. Postal Service had installed in the original building. Placed both above and below the working space, the enclosed corridors could be entered by postal inspectors through an outside entrance without the local employees’ knowledge.
All the city employees take great pride in the new city hall. The building is nearly four times the size of the old building, leaving plenty of space for storage. After many years of close quarters, the city finally has a new and improved home.
