Vista Civic Center Project

CIVIC at night

The new Civic Center on 200 Civic Center Drive opened in June, 2010.

Construction Overview (time lapse video)

Background

Ground breaking on the new Civic Center was on August 14, 2008 and the official grand opening ceremony was on June 29, 2010.

Previously, Vista’s City Hall was housed primarily in buildings that were part of the former junior high school, which was built in the 1950s. The site was acquired in 1977 from the school district with the intent that it would serve as a City Hall only long enough to have a new facility designed and built on the eastern portion of the parcel; however, construction never materialized. As staffing increased, temporary buildings were brought on-site to provide needed space. The temporary buildings were placed in locations where they would be most convenient and have the least impact on parking.

All of the former buildings at City Hall, both permanent and temporary, required considerable maintenance due to age. Heating and air conditioning systems fail regularly and the electrical wiring is inadequate for today’s technology. As the buildings weathered and aged, the costs to maintain, upgrade and improve the facilities continued to increase dramatically.

Civic Center Project

The construction of the new Civic Center entailed the redevelopment and expansion of the City's Civic Center facilities on the site of the existing City Hall and Civic Center Park. The old City Hall complex was approximately 50,000 square feet, and the new Civic Center is approximately 100,000 square feet. Design and construction of the project included the new civic center building and Community Room, public street improvements, pedestrian and vehicular access, parking, landscaping, and associated site improvements. In addition, the project included the demolition of the former buildings, clearing the existing vegetation, site grading and drainage, and the development of the Civic Center Park and all site utilities.

The architectural firm of Carrier Johnson & Culture was selected to design the Civic Center in December, 2007 and consists of these key elements:

  • Three story administration building approximately 90,000 sq. ft. in size;
  • Single story Community Room that doubles as an Emergency Operations Center;
  • Approximately 320 parking spaces. The increased visitor parking also facilitate the parking needs across the street at the Rancho Adobe and any other future public structures in that area.

For more information on the Civic Center project, contact Robin Putnam at rputnam@cityofvista.com.