Consultant sought for redesign of Lacey City Hall central wing 

The City of Lacey is seeking a consultant to remodel the central wing of Lacey City Hall to meet public service demands and projected employment growth through 2045.  

A request for qualitiations was issued Tuesday, Nov. 4, for the reorganization of first floor customer service points, workspace adjustments on both levels of the two-story building and new layouts that place employees from the same divisions closer together.  

Statements of qualifications are due on or before Friday, Dec. 12. 

According to the city, the consultant must possess competence in workplace programming, interior architectural design, and mechanical and electrical systems planning.

Staff is going to consider experience with municipal renovation work, as well as stability of personnel assigned to the project. 

Project scope 

Lacey City Hall is located at 420 College St. SE. It was constructed in 1986, and it forms the primary front-of-house for several city departments, and the majority of customer service interactions and public meetings. 

The project includes planning and predesign for upgrading, remodeling and enhancing functionalily of the central wing. Improvements are expected to involve modifications to customer service points, office space and meeting spaces, dependent on space, budget and development constraints. 

The first floor of the central wing is approximately 19,000 square feet. It provides governmental and customer service, as well as office space. 

“The first floor is poorly configured, resulting in large, underutilized spaces that create complex wayfinding for customers. Staff spaces are unable to accommodate growth in their current configuration; workspaces have been added over time to the extent practical,” according to a staff report.

Conditions are comparable to the level above. The second floor is approximately 10,500 square feet. The city said the floor plan’s interior organization has become ineffective. 

“Workstations are of various sizes and are inefficiently laid out resulting in underutilized space. The Public Works Department is split into several divisions, and the current layout of the second floor has made it difficult to co-locate members of the same division or work group,” according to the staff report.

The Emergency Operations Center is currently located on the second floor and is anticipated to relocate to the new Lacey Police Department building in 2026. 

The project also provides for repurposing the existing Emergency Operations Center space and additional offices into workspace, co-locating employees of the same department and/or division, maximizing space use, and prioritizing ergonomics and employee well-being. 

The consultant would be expected to review and be familiar with the city’s development guidelines and public works standards, as well as applicable commercial building codes. 

The selected consultant would also be required to validate the provided program, and provide recommendations with phasing and logistics plans during construction. 

Individuals and firms interested in the project must submit statements of qualifications electronically. The full solicitation and submission instructions are available on the City of Lacey website.