TUSTIN : City Hall Expansion Is Nearing Stage 2

It will be another year before the dust settles around the city’s $11-million Civic Center expansion project.

Officials said Monday that the first phase of the project, which includes adding a second story to the Police Department and a parking garage, will be completed by August.

The second phase includes adding a second story to City Hall and building an atrium joining the facility to the Police Department. It will begin before the first phase is completed and will include expanding the City Council chamber and the Community Center next to it.

To clear the way for the second phase, the council chamber and Community Center will move to the Senior Center on July 1. Officials said the phase will be completed by August, 1993.

City Hall has been moved to 15222 Del Amo Ave. in preparation for the construction.

The Tustin Civic Center was built in 1975. In the last decade, the city’s population has grown from about 36,000 residents to 52,000, necessitating the expansion.

“We were overcrowded, significantly overcrowded,” said Christine A. Shingleton, assistant city manager.

She added that the current expansion should meet the city’s needs through the year 2000.

The expansion will add 32,315 square feet to the administrative complex; the garage will add 139 spaces to the complex.