FOR the first time in 46 years, the Quezon City hall building is undergoing a structural retrofitting to strengthen its foundation and make it more resistant to a powerful earthquake, Mayor Herbert Bautista said Wednesday.
He said the city hall high-rise building’s structural retrofitting started as early as Aug. 29 last year, and is expected to be finished in 270 days.
The rehabilitation is being implemented in the east and west wings of the main building, including the construction of the shear wall or retrofitting from the foundation up to the third level to add rigidity to the building.
The construction shall also include the enlargement of the interior columns and the extension of west wing elevator to up to 15th floor, Bautista said.
According to engineer JP dela Cruz of the City engineering Department, the construction work aims to cause minimal disturbance to affected offices, such as the QC General Services Department and City Treasurer’s Office.
The affected offices shall be moved to the other side of the floor so as not to hamper the flow of work and other tasks of the said offices.
The city hall building was constructed in 1964 and was completed in 1972 during the term of the late mayor Norberto Amoranto.
It was initially located along the corner of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue and Aurora Boulevard beside the Cubao Elementary School, but was transferred to where the Ramon Magsaysay High School is located (on Ermin Garcia St.) in the 1950s.
Under the city’s 1949 master plan, the city hall must be built at the site where the present East Avenue Medical Center is located.
