Cupertino City Council has taken its first crucial steps toward a multi-million dollar renovation to its 60-year-old City Hall as it seeks to revamp a building that for decades has been at risk of collapsing if a major earthquake hits.
With the estimated price tag of $54 million to design and build over the next five years, the City Council decided to hold off before it committed to the hefty expenditure — balked at by both residents and councilmembers — and set aside the first $2.5 million to allow the project to begin and staff to explore ways to bring down the cost.
“It’s 20 years that we’ve talked about (these renovations),” said Cupertino Mayor Kitty Moore. “It’s time that we actually prove that we care about the health and safety of our employees and really do something.”
Cupertino City Hall was built in 1965, and while it was renovated in the ‘80s, a 2005 evaluation of the building found it at risk in case of a major earthquake. Analyses and studies in years that followed confirmed the earthquake risk and showed that the building’s mechanical, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fire, life-safety and technology systems had gone past their “useful service life,” according to a staff report on the building.
A 2021 seismic evaluation showed that under a significant earthquake, the roof could collapse, risking injury to those in the building and disrupting the city’s ability to serve the public. “The life safety and economic risk could be substantial,” concluded the report.
Cupertino City Council has weighed options on how best to address City Hall’s shortcomings since 2011, but has debated on the best solution — in 2015 the city allocated money for the renovation only to redirect those funds later, and at one point the council weighed constructing a whole new building. In the meantime, costs have ballooned.
The outlined project now under consideration would maintain the same footprint for the building, while updating the roof to lower risk of collapse, making the improvements to the building’s infrastructure, improving accessibility and adding community meeting rooms.
Some residents, however, argued that the city should hold off on the project to explore cheaper options, give more time for public input and offer more clarity on its plans.
“I urge you to take absolutely no action tonight … You can not be approving $54 million without spending the time needed to get public input,” said Cupertino resident San Rao, who said he was “dismayed and shocked” that the council would take action.
Councilmember Ray Wang reflected some of the concerns. “Addressing the safety of employees is important, but we also have to be fiscally responsible,” said Wang, who asked city staff to explore cheaper options for improving the building’s earthquake readiness and create a meeting for public input and education. “We espouse transparency and we espouse participation … I’m not trying to delay the project, I’m trying to make sure that the public is with us.”
Still, city staff maintained to address the earthquake risk will cost tens of millions of dollars. Others in the public and on the City Council pointed out that the project had been thoroughly discussed over years.
“We keep going back and forth … The price tag keeps going up. I think we have to bite that this is just going to be the cost,” said Vice Mayor Liang Chao.
“I’m glad that you’re finally doing something about City Hall … we’ve spent 20 years kicking the can down the road,” said Cupertino resident Jean Bedord, though she noted that the updated building would look much like the old one. “We’re spending $54 million and we still have the same old building. I would like to see you add something that is truly a community benefit.”
In an attempt to balance concerns over cost with the need to move forward, the council agreed to set aside the first $2.5 million for the design of the project, voting 4-1 for the proposal with Wang opposed.
“It just starts the ball rolling so that we can ask better questions and we have a better budget,” said Susan Michael, capital improvement programs manager for Cupertino, who called the move a “pay-as you-go” option that would allow staff to gather more information to hone in on better estimates and find cost savings.
If the project moves forward, staff expects construction to finish in 2030.