Town and area residents are invited to the new Wake Forest Town Hall Friday evening for the official ribbon-cutting and grand opening along with a concert, a reception and tours of the impressive new building between Brooks and Taylor streets.
          The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with the concert in the Centennial Plaza on Brooks Street featuring the Wake Forest Singers, Freddy Greene “The Street Genie,” the Heritage Middle School Chorus and the Dance Attic Dancers.
          At the same time Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones, the town commissioners and town officials will host a short reception for at least 38 federal, state, county and local officials.
          NBC 17 News Anchor Melanie Sanders will be the emcee for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6 p.m. Those people who purchased a personalized brick paver for Centennial Plaza will be invited to stay after the ceremony for a group photograph.
          The reception and self-guided tours of the new building will begin immediately after the official ceremony.
          The building’s most distinctive feature, the three-story circular rotunda, will be the center of most people’s interest. The ground floor opening onto Taylor Street features a rough-hewn wood floor made of planks taken from an old North Carolina barn. The inspections department and a service area for permits and other services are located here along with a lounge area and a large meeting room.
          The elevator and stairs lead to the first floor with its entrance on Centennial Plaza and the Brooks Street parking area. Be sure to inspect the polished concrete lobby floor with its circular design, a large town seal surrounded by important dates in the town’s history. The cracks in the floor mimic tree roots.
          Upstairs on the second floor the town board and planning board have a new meeting room where the high windows, lit during meetings, will show the town is at work. Look up at the ceiling and admire the tree chandelier designed by an artist.
          Last week the town commissioners agreed to install solar panels on the roof to make sure the building earns LEED Platinum certification, which will make it the second town hall in the country with such a designation. Throughout the design and construction, town officials, the architects and the contractor worked to make the building as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.
          One example is water use. Stormwater from the roof will irrigate the landscape plants and trees. The toilets and urinals are ultra low-flush, and the other fixtures in the lavatories, shower and kitchen areas are also ultra low-flow. The sinks in all the restrooms have sensors that turn on the water when someone moves their hands in the bowl and then turn off the water when not in use.
          The new building will cost right at $12 million when the change orders and other refinements are completed, and the total cost of the project – land purchase, architect fees – is $15 million. The project has been paid for with savings in a capital project fund and a lease-purchase agreement.
          The 1979 town hall has been demolished and a contractor is building a parking area and retention pond on the site. The triple-wide modular building next door that held the engineering and human resources departments most recently has been moved. A third building, what was called the planning cottage facing Brooks Street has been vacated, and the entire planning department has moved to the new town hall.
          The 1909 town hall that now faces both Brooks Street and Centennial Plaza will continue to be used. Town Manager Mark Williams said recently that part of the Wake Forest Police Department will use the building which is in front of the current main station and Wake County District Court courtroom. He said the investigations section, which is now housed at the substation on Ligon Mill Road, will probably move in there.
          That 1909 town hall, the first, housed all the town government on the first floor – including a small jail – and the second floor was given over to the Recorder’s Court courtroom.
          The building has been painted to match the brick on the new town hall.