The construction of the new Bacolod City Hall, with an initial project cost of almost P223 million, is expected to be completed in 18 months.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez led the groundbreaking ceremony on the original historical site of the building on Luzuriaga and Araneta Streets in the downtown area yesterday.
“The original appropriation is about P220 million, but I think we would run short with the design just to make it a legacy and iconic building. So, it’s short by about P80 [million] to P100 million,” Benitez said.
He added that the City Engineer’s Office is still determining the additional amount needed to finish the rehabilitation/improvement project funded under the P4.4 billion loan package of the city government from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
“This, being a legacy project, at this particular moment, we are looking at what represents Bacolod. It will have a 10x10x4-meter artwork. We will engage a group of local artists to paint it,” Benitez said.
He added that the mural would serve as a walk-through of the history of Bacolod or an art piece about Bacolod.
Benitez said the old structure was built 61 years ago, and on the same site, a modern city hall with bigger and newer offices would rise to better serve the Bacolodnons.
The new four-story structure, which will have a 55-vehicle parking lot, will house the offices of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Office, City Veterinary Office, General Services Office, Persons with Disability Office, Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs, Commission on Audit, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
It will still include a space for the City Mayor’s Office to symbolize City Hall as the seat of the city government, Benitez said.
The City Mayor’s Office and City Council offices are currently holding operations at the Bacolod City Government Center, built in 2007.
The site of the old City Hall, along with the Fountain of Justice, was originally occupied by the residence of Don Jose Ruiz de Luzuriaga.
It first became the seat of the provincial government and then the Bacolod City Hall. (PNA)