The scaffolding is up, and work is underway on big projects on two prominent City of Hastings buildings.
Roofing work started at the historic Hastings City Hall, which is surrounded by scaffolding. The Hastings Civic Arena roofing project got underway last week as well.
The city received a $2 million commitment to the project from the Minnesota Legislature bonding program in 2020 and has requested $900,000 in additional funding from the state to help cover project costs, which have escalated in the last several years.
The city hall project was delayed because the city ran into problems finding a contractor to take on the project. Earlier this year, a bid of $3,294,805 was approved with Renaissance Roofing, which specializes in historic restoration project. The project will also include repairing and gilding the gold top dome of the roof. That work will have a 30-year lifetime, compared to 15 years if it was just painted gold.
The city hall project also includes upgrading HVAC systems, which got underway a couple months ago, as well as restoring masonry and replacing the annex roof.
The project is scheduled for completion by fall 2025.
The city is also still hoping for state bonding help for the $5.2 million Hastings Civic Arena project.
The project includes a new roof with solar panels on the west rink and un updated ammonia-based refrigeration system to replace the outdated system that uses R222 refrigerant. Use of R22 is being phased out because of its effect on the ozone layer.
The solar panels will help provide electricity used in the ice arena.
The project is set to be completed for rink use this fall.
