HASTINGS, Neb. — Contractors are preparing to start renovating the city hall building in Hastings.

City workers will fence off the parking lot surrounding the building on Monday, Sept. 30. The property will be off limits for more than a year as the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

The Hastings City Council approved a bid of $7,092,000 from Genesis Contracting Group of Lincoln for the project. It was the lowest among the five bids received and was in line with cost expectations from the architect.

Crews started interior demolition in August. Discussions around the future of city hall were a heated topic in early 2023. Conversations picked up after a study detected dangerously high levels of mold in the building. Some favored completely demolishing city hall and replacing it, while others preferred the renovation route. The city council voted 8-0 in September 2023 to renovate the building. It has been vacant since April 2023.