Contract Is Awarded for New Public Service Center

Construction is scheduled to begin this month on a $24-million project to replace the city’s 61-year-old public service building.

The Glendale City Council on Tuesday awarded a $19.98-million contract to Robert E. McKee Construction of Los Angeles, the low bidder on the city project. Additional funds have been set aside for demolition of the old building and expansion of the city plaza.

The city’s current six-story building at 119 N. Glendale Ave. is overcrowded, outmoded and nearly inaccessible to the public, said Michael P. Hopkins, public service director. The building, where 195 employees work, has an open stairwell in the center that is considered unsafe in the event of a fire, and its plumbing and heating systems are inadequate.

A new four-story building, to be named after former city manager C.E. (Gene) Perkins, will be built at the southwest corner of Wilson and Glendale avenues, which is now a city parking lot. The city’s parking garage was expanded several years ago to accommodate cars that now park where the new building is to be built, said Steve Adams, an administrative assistant.

The new building will be nearly twice as big as the old and will accommodate 240 employees. The additional employees are now working in other buildings at the Civic Center. Construction is expected to take about 18 months.

The old building will then be torn down and the space used to enlarge Parcher Plaza in the Civic Center.

Funds for the project have been set aside in the city’s budget, in keeping with the conservative, pay-as-you-go practices established by Perkins. He was city manager of Glendale from 1952 to 1972, the longest anyone has ever occupied the position.

Now 86, the retired civil engineer still lives in Glendale. He had developed public utility systems as a private consultant in the Midwest before coming to Glendale. While serving as city manager, he earned a master’s degree in public administration from USC. He also taught at USC and Cal State Los Angeles. Some of his writings on engineering are still used in college courses, said Barbara Boyd, Glendale historian.