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After three months of setbacks that could cost the city $2 million, the newly renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center building at 2180 Milvia St. will finally be ready to crack open its doors on Jan. 19. 

City employees are scheduled to phase in their move back into the building over five weekends in January and February. They will start with the third floor, where construction is now almost complete, Capital Projects Manager John Rosenbrock said. Some work will continue as people move into their new offices. 

More than 200 city employees who have worked in offices scattered around town for the last two years are expected to re-occupy the six-story building. 

The seismic renovation at City Hall began Dec. 1, 1998 with an original completion date of Oct. 2000. However, the city ran into a number of problems along the way.  

Most recently, it had planned to open the building next week. However, Pacific Bell was behind schedule installing phone lines and did not finish its work until two weeks ago. That was one cause for the most recent delay, Rosenbrock said. 

Because of delays, the budget for the renovation increased from the original $35 million to about $37 million, according to Rosenbrock.  

Renovations were funded by local bond Measure S, passed in 1992. 

“Time is money, and delays definitely have an effect on budget,” Rosenbrock said. 

Other problems along the way included piping in the basement containing asbestos which had to be replaced. This took extra time at the beginning of the renovations. There was a month-long delay in the spring of 1999 because some of the building design was changed to save money.  

Earlier this year floor plans were also changed to create space for additional offices in the building. 

“There were a few minor delays, which were predictable, but nothing by surprise,” said Rene Cardinaux, director of public works. 

Rosenbrock said some of the construction also took longer than planned because the contractors ran into small, unexpected problems. 

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Building was constructed between 1938 and 1940. The city acquired it in 1977 and has designated it a city landmark. 

Rosenbrock said he expects everybody to be moved in by mid-February. 

“I expect that date to be met,” he said. “However, we could still encounter a new problem that we don’t know about.” 

While the building is almost finished, elevators still need to be installed, as do carpets and bathroom fixtures throughout the building. The perimeter of the building is still fenced off and pedestrian traffic is rerouted to the east side of Milvia Street. 

Rosenbrock said each floor is at a different point in construction. The third floor and part of the first floor will be the first to be completed, followed by the fourth floor, fifth floor, and second floor. 

He said the city may look into trying to recuperate some of the $2 million from contractors. The city first has to determine whether any of the 20 or so contractors failed to complete their tasks in a reasonable amount time. The city will not look into doing so until the building is finished.