HASTINGS, Neb. – The Hastings City Council is giving the green light to a Lincoln-based general contractor to begin renovation efforts on the currently vacated city hall building. 

On Monday, council members voted unanimously 8-0 to award a $7.092 million contract bid to Genesis Contracting Group (GCG) of Lincoln, who was the lowest of five contractor bidders. 

According to city documents, the five bids ranged from $7.092 million to $8.121 million. 

Farris Construction of Hastings was the lone company outside of the Lincoln and Omaha area to submit a bid, which came in at $7,851,027.

The approval will make GCG the company responsible for renovating the city hall once interior demolition is complete.

During Monday night's meeting, Hastings Director of Engineering Lee Vrooman said interior demolition is currently in progress, and is expected to be completed by October 1. 

Pending the acceptance of the council's contract award, GCG would begin the renovation project shortly after demolition completion.

The Hastings City Building has been closed since the spring of 2023 due to high detected levels of mold and asbestos, which have since been removed from the building.

Per contract specifications, the renovations need to be complete by December 31, 2025. 

Full details of the renovations and bid plans can be found here on the city of Hastings website.