The design of Richfield’s new city hall and public safety facility involved significant community engagement while integrating objectives of the city and their police and fire departments. Planned on a site shared with Heredia Park, the planning and design of the space embraces the surrounding park, respects the local neighborhood, and creates a unified space for all municipal functions. By engaging both a city hall advisory team and a neighborhood group, the design team understood and incorporated community interests and objectives that were sensitive to the city’s context.
The new city hall and public safety facility’s phasing and construction allowed Richfield’s municipal departments to remain operational through completion. A major outcome of the project is efficiency—by reorganizing departments and creating flexible workspaces, Richfield can look forward to sustaining future growth. Because of the site’s location along a busy corridor, Richfield segregates staff, police, fire, and visitor traffic and gives parking specific attention for safety and quicker response times.