After lengthy delays, the City of Largo’s new City Hall at the mixed-use development Horizon West Bay will open to the public May 19.
The 87,000-square-foot facility, at 440 West Bay Drive, was designed to be a center for City services and community experiences. It features a Community Corner event area, public parking garage and mural installations by the St. Petersburg-based Vitale Brothers.
With about 18,000 square feet of commercial space, the approximately $85 million project will be home to tenants such as Strachan’s Ice Cream & Desserts, Parlor Doughnuts and Louis Pappas Fresh Greek. These businesses will open at a later date.
For Largo Mayor Woody Brown, the project has been long in the making. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to revitalize Largo’s downtown.
“It sets an example of a type of City Hall that’s different from what’s in existence in this area, where it’s not just a building that’s active during the day but also in the afternoon, night and on the weekends,” he explained to the Catalyst. “It’s just a change in the way that cities do business.”
Brown added that the current City Hall’s location, at 201 Highland Avenue, is not ideal. “It’s not a super inviting building,” he said. “Well, this is quite the opposite.”
He hopes that more people will attend City Commission meetings and participate in the local government. The chambers in the new facility are more accessible, Brown explained.
“We’re making a significant investment in the downtown and that shows our confidence here,” said former Largo City Manager Henry Schubert in a promotional video about the project. “That should encourage others to do the same.”
One of the murals created by the St. Petersburg-based Vitale Brothers.
The City of Largo approved a nearly $70 million contract for the effort in 2022. It is one of the municipality’s largest undertakings in its history.
Initially, the facility was scheduled to open in late 2024, according to the City’s website. Hurricanes Helene and Milton delayed the process. The opening was then pushed back to spring of 2025. More delays followed.
“Both labor and supplies became a little bit harder to access,” Brown said. “So, I think there were construction delays for the years following Hurricanes Helene and Milton simply because of the impact the hurricanes had on the whole area.”
He added that the City of Largo did not want to rush the process. Quality was one of the most important factors. Additional delays were caused by a HVAC system design error.
Horizon West Bay was created to be energy-efficient and resilient. “It’s 65 to 70 feet above sea level,” Brown said. “Our current city hall is in a floodplain and got partially flooded during Hurricane Milton.”
He explained that government officials can “run emergency operations during a storm” at the new facility. Downtown Largo is the “highest area in the city.”
The building, Brown said, also has a solar array on the roof and a rainwater collection system to “reduce water consumption.”
City of Largo staff members have already begun to move to Horizon West Bay. Brown plans to give “Mayor’s Tours” once it is up and running for a couple of weeks.
Largo’s current City Hall will officially close Friday. Government services will be available online only May 18. The first City Commission meeting at Horizon West Bay will be held May 19.
