New Dunedin City Hall Officially Opens Doors Tuesday: Video

DUNEDIN, FL — Dunedin city officials and employees will begin making themselves at home in their new headquarters at the newly completed Dunedin City Hall, 272 Louden Ave., Dunedin, on Tuesday, March 14, at 8 a.m.

The new 39,000-square-foot city hall will be home to nearly 100 city employees who now work out of five different buildings.

Departments and divisions relocating to the new city hall include the city clerk, communications, community development, including planning, code compliance and the building divisions, economic and housing development, engineering, finance, human resources and risk management, information technology, utility billing, the office of city manager and the city commission.

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“We look forward to the efficiencies and the synergies which will result from bringing these departments and divisions together,” said City Manager Jennifer Bramley. “Many city services will be consolidated into one location. We call it the one-stop shop for providing residents convenient access to frequently requested services like paying utility bills, applying for permits or a job.”

The new city hall will also host a more spacious city commission boardroom where the commission, boards and committees will meet.

While final work installing technology and the livestream broadcast system continues, city commission meetings will temporarily continue to be held at the old city hall, 542 Main St.

“We are so excited to open this beautiful new building for our community," said Mayor Julie Ward Bujalski. “We hope that it will serve as a symbol of progress and pride in our city for many years to come."

A grand opening celebration will be scheduled for later this spring and will include live music, refreshments and tours of the new building, Bujalski said.

She added that the new city hall will reflect Dunedin’s love of art and culture. Visitors will be greeted outside the building by “The See” public art sculpture, created by artist Heath Satow.

Inside the building, a mix of works by area artists will be featured.

Construction of the new city hall was delayed slightly due to supply chain issues and labor shortages.

Nevertheless, construction of the building came in on budget by general contractor Manhattan Construction — $22.8 million, primarily funded by the Penny for Pinellas Fund sales tax from tourism which is reinvested into capital projects with additional contributions from enterprise and revenue sources such as the community redevelopment association, utilities and building permits.

The new parking lot and adjacent angled street parking provide 218 parking spaces for public use in the evenings and weekends when parking is in high demand.

The building has been designed to include solar power and a standby emergency generator, along with energy efficiencies consistent with the City’s EPIC! Goal of environmental sustainability.

The last municipal services building in Dunedin was built in 1966. This building has been designed and constructed to have an estimated lifespan of 75 to 100 years.