Hastings City Hall began renovation in 2023 for the dome roof, masonry repair, replacing the annex roof and updating the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). The $5 million project includes metalwork, masonry, and repainting and is expected to last until autumn of 2025.
The former Dakota County Courthouse, what is now Hastings City Hall, was built in 1869-1871 and “for over 100 years, the courthouse served as the seat of Dakota County government,” according to Dakota County Historical Society’s list of historic sites in Hastings. The courthouse was designed by one of Minnesota’s first architects, A. M. Radcliff, “in an Italian villa style with four symmetrical facades of brick and stone,” according to Dakota County Historical Society. In 1912 the original cupula-like dome was replaced with the circular dome that can still be seen today. The final meeting of the Dakota County Board of Commissioners occurred there in 1974, and in 1993 the building became Hastings City Hall.
The total renovation project is estimated to cost $5 million, notably more than initially expected after the city received $2 million from the State in the 2020 capital budget and more than $200,000 from the Minnesota Historical Society specifically meant to assist with the masonry work of the renovation.
“Since then, the project has been bid three times, resulting in $1.5 million over budget plus $300,000 in contingency fees,” according to the city’s 2023 application to the state for an additional $900,000 to cover half of the initial cost overruns.
The COVID-19 Pandemic drove up construction costs across the board including historic renovations which require specialists working under strict guidelines. Despite that, the project has moved forward “rather than delay and potentially face higher costs to rebid,” according to the same 2023 application.
Because of the historic nature of City Hall, “the rehabilitation must be completed in compliance with strict historical design standards,” according to the city’s renovation page.
Enter Renaissance Historic Exteriors.
Renaissance Historic Exteriors is a custom restoration firm that focuses on historic buildings like churches, courthouses, and capitol buildings. Project Manager Jake Verhagen, who is overseeing the renovation, has personally worked on other historic sites like the Indiana War Memorial with his team working on other projects such as the Texas and Kentucky state capitol buildings.
Verhagen has a background in masonry that led him to working on heavy construction sites before moving to historic buildings. He hasn’t looked back since. Part of the appeal of working on historic buildings is the individuality of each project. Rather than work on prefabricated designs of cookie-cutter houses over and over again, each historic project requires a fresh perspective.
“Every project is different,” said Verhagen.
A key issue of working with historic renovations is bringing buildings up to current code. A common problem when renovating historic buildings is that their original construction isn’t up to modern safety standards or building codes and therefore has to be upgraded while still being made to look historic. Compounding that code issue is the fact that often construction from 100 years ago wasn’t as uniform as it might be today so even doing the same process across different cupolas or facades can change.
“Each window is different you know?” said Verhagen.
The historical aspect of each site is important to Verhagen. There is pride in his voice when he talks about keeping buildings standing that were built more than a century ago.
“They never thought that building would be standing in 180 years.”
And after Verhagen and his team are done, it will stand for another century. Verhagen’s goal is to “never be in this building again,” because the work is good enough to last past his own lifetime.
For more information about the Hastings City Hall renovation, visit the city’s website at https://www.hastingsmn.gov/city-government/city-hall/city-hall-renovation-and-repair-project