Murray’s City Hall at 5025 S. State Street is going to be moving two blocks away. The Murray City Museum, also in the building, is moving too.
The City Council has been faced with the question for months: What to do with the building? Tuesday night, Murray residents came out to say, "Save the Arlington."
“We love our city, and we love the uniqueness of Murray," said Rachel Morot, Vice President of the Historic Murray First Foundation. "We see that evaporating year after year.”
Many Murray residents went to school in the building, back when it was 'The Arlington,' said Morot.
“This was built in the thirties-era and served the community as a school and then in the eighties was turned into the city hall," she said. "So it's been an educational institutional and civic building for its entire life.”
In a meeting Tuesday night, the City Council voted unanimously to make changes to zoning that could allow the building to be demolished and replaced with high-rise apartments. Every resident that got up to speak at the meeting was opposed to the demolition of the City Hall building.
“They don't want apartments in every available space," said Clark Bullen. "We need housing, we need more apartments, but not as part of Historic downtown. This area right here is the place that Murray wants to see its gathering place, its town square become.”
Residents don’t want a six-story building with high-density housing in the heart of historic Murray, said Bullen.
“You turn one of these buildings into a 480-apartment complex, then it sets a trend," he said. "It sets a trend of look, feel, design, and then it's easier for the next one to happen, and the next one to happen, and the next one to happen.”
Despite the comments from residents, council members voted unanimously to approve the zoning changes, which means the city can now decide to sell it to a developer.
“There has been some information out there about, you know, that this is going to bring on 480 apartments," said Garry Hrechkosy, Councilman for District 5. "That's a possibility, but tonight's vote will not do that.”
A real estate agent hired by the city told council members that multi-family use development would be best for this property.
The Historic Murray First Foundation has brought forward multiple suggestions, the most popular one a transformation of the space into a community center with a library and a senior center.
