Chillicothe — Council is looking to have a new home soon, next door, for the next five years. But, moving most city offices into the Gazette Building is not out of the picture.
In the August 10th, 2026 Chillicothe Council session, council member Jeff Creed reported from his chairmanship of the City Facilities committee, which continues to assess their options with the decaying old City Hall and ailing Administration Building.
Council started looking more seriously into better office space in an hour-and-a-half meeting before the June 22nd council session. Options then outlined included:
- Reusing the existing administration building at 35 South Paint Street – but that is cost-prohibitive.
- Reusing former City Hall at 26 South Paint Street – which is too small to house all offices.
- The Foulke Block next door to old City Hall was considered as a lease (or purchase).
- Buying the former Gazette Building at at 50 West Main Street.
- Building new – but that is probably also cost-prohibitive.
In the August 10th meeting, Creed said the committee voted to rent space in the Foulke Block – but only for council chambers. Creed said the back of old City Hall that houses council chambers is “falling in,” and other problems have plagued the former Municipal Court building.
Creed said that committee request will be on council’s agenda in the next session (tonight, August 24th), and when passed, the mayor can then enter into a contract to rent space.
Creed said he expects a couple months to make the space work well, so four to six months for the entire process to get council set up next door.
He said the Gazette building is not out of the picture for serving as a new city hall, but council wants to gather more information on it. Plus, the building can’t hold all of city offices – it is short about 1,000 square feet, and a decision will need to be made as to what office(s) will go elsewhere. The previous meeting also noted it would require several million dollars worth of renovations.
Creed said they will look at what to do with the Administration Building across South Paint street next month. He has called a committee meeting from 6:15 to 7pm on September 14th, before that evening’s council session.
The plan is for council chambers to spend five years in the Foulke Block, while the city continues to study and plan out a permanent home for city offices.
