The Town of Middleburg is excited to announce it has entered into a Letter of Intent ("LOI") with Salamander Middleburg MUV, LLC to acquire 0.597 acres of land, located immediately behind the existing Town Office, as a part of its plan for the future construction of a new Town Hall building on the current Town Office site. Under the terms of the LOI approved by the Town Council, Salamander will give the Town the property for a total price of $1. The property would be used to construct public parking, sidewalks, and landscaping, with the new Town Hall being built on property already owned by the Town.

"Under Salamander's rezoning proffers from 2007, Salamander was required to provide the Town with property for the construction of a new Town Hall building; however, the identified property was further to the north. With the cooperation of Salamander, we will be able to relocate the proffered site so it will be contiguous with our existing property, allowing the Town to continue to utilize its current location, reduce the overall cost of the project in the long term, and continue to serve residents in the most effective way possible," said Mayor Bridge Littleton.

In 2017, the Town Council identified the construction of a new Town Hall as one of its strategic priorities. This was the result of several factors, including that the current Town Office, built in 1964, is too small to provide services to the community effectively and to house the Town staff; the Town is leasing separate office space for the Police Department, which is disconnected from the rest of the Town operations; and the existing Town Office building has undergone three mold remediation events, creating health concerns for those spending extended time in the space.

To this end, the Town contracted with PMA Architects to conduct a space needs study to identify how much space is required to meet the Town's existing operational and staffing needs, plan for future needs to serve the public best, and provide usable public gathering spaces. The Town then explored at least eight possible locations to ensure it pursued the project in the most viable, cost-effective manner before identifying the existing location as its preferred site.

In addition to meeting the Council's strategic initiative of the construction of a new Town Hall, the project would address needs identified by the community and included in Middleburg's 2019 Comprehensive Plan, such as the need for more public parking, the need for a Village Greenspace, and the need for more public meeting space for use by all members of the community. In particular, the proposed Village Green would be made available for use by the Town for various community events and activities.

The Town Council recognizes that the timing is not right to advance a construction project due to the current COVID-19 crisis; however, the Council also recognizes that once the pandemic has passed, the Town may have a tremendous opportunity to save money both in the form of interest rate savings and in lower construction costs that may not be experienced ever again.

"We want to make sure we position ourselves to take full advantage of all possible cost savings when the time is right," said Councilmember Peter Leonard-Morgan, the Council's community liaison for the Town Hall project. "Doing low-cost concept planning work at this time is prudent from a longterm perspective. To that end, the Town has been working on completing the site acquisition phase of the project to prepare for the future. I want to assure the community that the Council will not take any action to advance the construction project until we are confident of our revenue projections and that the timing is right. We will also plan community outreach efforts to make sure the public is informed and engaged in the design process before moving forward with any construction plans."

The next phase of the project includes finalizing the land acquisition and formally issuing a request for architectural and engineering proposals (RFP). All funds are coming from the Town's Fund Balance, which has a current balance over the Town's fiscal policy guidelines. Future financings will be pursued at the appropriate time to take advantage of low-interest rates.

More information can be found on the Town's website at: https://www.middleburgva.gov/TownHall