ST. MARYS, OH (WLIO) - A groundbreaking ceremony was held in St. Marys to prepare them for future revitalization projects.
A new city building will be coming to St. Marys, and construction is expected to be complete in July 2024. The groundbreaking also served as the beginning of a goodbye to the old city building, which held plenty of history.
"This building will serve the city of St. Marys today and into the future," said Patrick McGowan, mayor of St. Marys. "The only home-owned post office in the United States. It was owned by the citizens of St. Marys. That post office building I guess goes back to the 1920s."
The new building will be located right next to the old one, and will also be connected to the Opera House. The top and bottom floors will be for city personnel, with the middle floor being reserved for the future of the city.
"We will occupy the top floor and the bottom floor," said McGowan. "The middle floor is for future growth in the city and right now we will offer it to rent to social service, county, and state agencies."
The design of the building is reminiscent of previous structures seen in the city, a design choice, which was intentional.
"The design team really wanted to make sure that it fitted in the character of the city here with the older structures and the historical context," said Dan Arnold, Director of Architecture of the project.
The mayor emphasized how this is just one step of the revitalization of the city — and how it will be the catalyst for changes to come.
"This city is our bridge to the 21st century and coupled with the theater which is right next door, which will have a sky bridge connected to it," said McGowan. "It's going to kind of be like the keystone of downtown."
