Starting April 1, Holladay City Hall will close so the historic building can be seismically retrofitted. City offices will move to the former Millcreek City Hall at 3330 S. 1300 East, until the autumn of 2027. 

Located at 4580 S. 2300 East, Holladay City Hall is a nearly 100-year-old building, and the former Holladay Elementary. It’s classified as an unreinforced masonry building and must be renovated to meet public safety standards in case of a disaster, like an earthquake. 

The city will enter into an 18-month lease agreement for the building in Millcreek, from April 2026 through September 2027, so city officials and staff can continue conducting business while City Hall is being updated.  

“We estimate the construction on this building will take 12 to 15 months,” said Holladay City Manager Gina Chamness. “So, being very cautious after other construction projects, we are securing the space for 18 months, with the option to add three additional months.”

Leasing the Millcreek building will cost $143,648, payable in monthly installments of $11,970. Total cost for the retrofit is estimated at nearly $10 million, funded by a 20-year municipal bond. 

City officials said moving the city offices to Millcreek was determined to be the most cost-effective option as the building is already set up to function as a City Hall, and it was more affordable than other options. However, some work must be done before city leaders can make the move. 

“Most of what we have to do at the space is associated with security for the Justice Court. When Millcreek occupied it as their City Hall, they did not operate a Justice Court, since they were contracting with us. So, there are things there that need to be done, but we think those will be fairly minimal,” Chamness said. “The lease assumes that we can begin occupancy in February and that will allow us time to do the minimal build-out that we think we have to do.”

While it might feel unusual to have Holladay’s City Hall located in Millcreek for 18 months, city leaders wanted to preserve the historic building and retrofitting will cost less than having to raze it and build a new City Hall. 

The Unified Police Department Holladay Precinct, located on the north side of City Hall, will not move to the new location since that area of the building has had more recent renovations. 

Potentially, Holladay is in line to receive nearly $1.7 million in federal funding from the Community Project Fund under FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, to help cover some of the construction costs for retrofitting.

“The current deadline for passage of the federal budget is January 30, so in an ideal world, all of this is going to be negotiated before January 30, a bill will be passed, and we’ll know what we’re getting, but I’m going to be holding my breath,” Chamness said. 

Regular updates to the seismic upgrade will be shared on the city’s social media channels and website.