The city of Brookhaven will hold a city hall groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 11 at 10:30 a.m. at 4047 Peachtree Road NE.
Brookhaven City Hall is budgeted for $78 million, being funded by commercial tax revenue through the Special Services District (SSD).
Brookhaven City Hall is being built on the one-acre parking lot at the Brookhaven-Oglethorpe MARTA station. The site will hold government offices, public meeting space, green space, a first-floor coffee shop and connections to multi-use trails.
For months, residents have been vocal at city council meetings about the cost of the new building. At the Sept. 26 meeting, mayoral candidate Mark Frost asked if the project could be put on hold, and at what penalty.
“Can the project be pared down to something more reasonable than what it is now, or if there’s no way to get out of it, is it possible to cut the cost?” Frost asked. “There’s a lot of concern about that overall price tag given what other cities around us have paid for their city hall.”
Residents had a similar reaction to the newly-opened public safety building at 1793 Briarwood Road which houses the Brookhaven Police Department, municipal court and emergency management. It cost $25.8 million — nearly $8 million more than anticipated.
Despite the size and cost of the new city hall, it will not include space for several city departments, including public works, economic development, community development, planning and zoning, permitting, inspections, and code enforcement.
Instead, they’ll be located at the former Public Safety Building, 2665 Buford Highway, which was purchased by the city in 2022 for $5.4 million. The building will known as the Brookhaven Development Services Building.