Recent city talks revealed the demolition of the Stryker Building is expected to start in April or May and the construction of the new Stryker Center, a 12- to 18-month process, is expected to begin in September.
The information emerged in a recent city talk about where Williamsburg City Council meetings will be held during its construction and Wednesday’s Planning Commission meeting.
The city is in the process of completing designs on a new Stryker Center, a community venue that would replace the current Stryker Building and house an expansion of the Williamsburg Regional Library. Architects David Stemann and Edwin Pease were chosen to plan the new building after an outpouring of support for their designs during a 10-month city process to choose a design firm. Richmond-based construction company Daniel & Company teamed up with the architectural duo to carry out their design.
During a talk on Saturday at the Council’s winter retreat about where City Council would meet while construction is underway on the center, City Manager Jack Tuttle said the completion of Stryker is expected to take 12 to 18 months. Demolition is expected to start as early as April or May and Planning Director Reed Nester said at Wednesday’s Planning Commission meeting that construction should start in September.
Because of the approaching demolition, officials discussed moving the meetings to one of three locations: the Williamsburg Community Building, the Williamsburg Regional Library’s auditorium or the third floor of the Municipal Building. For lighting, sound and video recording reasons, several council members showed support for moving the meetings to the Municipal Building.
Ahead of Stryker’s construction, WRL is deciding whether it wants to make upgrades to its audio/visual equipment in its auditorium. Officials decided to find out if the WRL upgrades would be functional ahead of the completion of the Stryker Center, which would allow the Council to meet in the auditorium, though there was concern about competing against local programming that also uses the stage.
Interim Director of WRL Genevieve Owens later said WRL was looking into the technology upgrades but there were “no firm plans at this time.” Owens said the upgrades, if installed, would be controlled from the new Stryker Center.
During the demolition, council is expected to convene in the third floor of the Municipal Building.
