LARGO — A clogged sewer line flooded the first floor of City Hall last week, forcing employees to evacuate the building at 201 Highland Ave. and prompting officials to redirect meetings and services to other locations while they weigh whether to repair the aging structure or accelerate the move to the new Horizon West Bay complex downtown.
The leak, which Mayor Woody Brown said was caused by “a big ball of sanitary wipes,” shut down the 49-year-old building April 7. City Hall is closed until at least April 17, according to the city’s website.
The City Commission convened at the nearby library, at 120 Central Park Drive, while permitting and other services have been diverted to Largo Community Center at 400 Alt Keene Road.
“We’re looking at the cost of cleanup versus the timeframe of getting into Horizon,” Brown said by phone April 10. “I’m optimistic we’ll be in Horizon West Bay in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, some people will be working from home, and others will be relocated to other city facilities like the community center. We’re weighing the benefit of cleaning up versus getting out.”
The dilemma is the worst-case scenario for those who had hoped to be in the $85 million downtown mixed-use complex and out of the deteriorating Highland Avenue building by now.
Originally, the plan called for a spring 2025 move-in, a date that has been pushed back several times. Most recently, a $500,000 change order to fix code compliance issues pushed the opening back indefinitely and drew sharp criticism from commissioners.
“I am not pleased with this project,” Commissioner Michael Smith said during the March 3 meeting.
Brown said the Highland Avenue building, built in 1976, is slated for demolition once the move to West Bay Drive is complete. Voters in November approved a referendum allowing the city to market the 14-acre property to developers for passive and mixed uses.
Moving the main sewer line that runs under the building was a top priority in that plan, Brown said.
“A major collection sewer line runs right under City Hall,” he said. “The plan was to move where that line goes so it doesn’t interfere with any future developments on the site.”
When told a resident who came to City Hall for a permit only to find the building closed said the city should have put the Horizon money into fixing the old building, Brown said he had heard — and thought of — that.
“The first plan was to fix the old building,” he said. “But the pipe is still there. And one big consideration was, we wanted City Hall to be out of the flood zone and not susceptible to storm surge. So a lot of thought went into the final decision.”
Now Largo leaders are suspended between two homes, not unlike the Tampa Bay Rays, who were displaced from Tropicana Field by the hurricanes and forced to play elsewhere while awaiting word on a new stadium.
“Well, we’re not going to spend Rays money on this situation, I know that,” Brown said with a laugh. “And our window to get into the new place is a lot shorter. So I think right now admin is leaning toward making sure we can still provide the services residents need while we transition to the new building.
“We’ll be in Horizon as quickly as we can,” he added. “But we may have to move around a bit first.”
For more information on the closure, visit largo.com/alert_detail.php.