Rehoboth Beach City Hall meets wrecking ball

Rehoboth Beach's City Hall, completed in 1964, met the wrecking crew Monday.

The resort's voters agreed last summer to fund a plan drawn up by city leaders to demolish the existing city hall and build a new one, borrowing up to $18 million for the project. Late in 2015, city staffers moved into trailer offices, and on Monday demolition of the building at 229 Rehoboth Ave. began.

The city-owned convention center, behind City Hall, is staying put and getting some renovations. The city, however, deleted a line item to replace the convention center's flooring after bids for the entire project came in higher than expected.

"I think this is an investment that the city has made well," Commissioner Patrick Gossett said. "It just makes a positive statement about what Rehoboth is about."

The city's police department, 911 center, parking department and building-code offices, information technology workers, parks staff and transportation office all will be housed in the new City Hall. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., a nationwide construction firm with offices in Salisbury, Maryland, has the contract to build it.

Delmarva Media Group reporter Phil Davis contributed to this story. Contact James Fisher at (302) 983-6772, on Twitter @JamesFisherTNJ or jfisher@delawareonline.com.