City officials look to Brookline for next Republic City Hall

Despite upgrades in recent years, Republic City Hall, 213 N. Main Street, is getting long in the tooth and short on remaining days. The old downtown structure has for years been in discussion for replacement and in 2016 Republic City Council thought they had just the place, a 6.25-acre lot at Oakwood Avenue and Farm Road 174, a short distance behind what was then Republic Ford. So they bought it.
Since then, however, city officials have fallen out of love with the undeveloped, vacant property, as they believe the city's growth toward Brookline warrants Republic's next city hall in that area.
The city is now officially taking sealed bids until Oct. 27 in an effort to unload the land in five parcels (four one-acre lots and one 2.25 acre lot), so they can move forward with their plans on building the next Republic City Hall farther east.
"The land was acquired in early 2016 for a future City Hall based on the previous growth trend in Republic,” Republic City Administrator David Cameron said. “Naturally, this has evolved substantially since 2016, when the use would have made more logistical sense. With the expansion of the MM corridor, we began evaluating property in that vicinity, near the new regional sports complex, school, and other pending developments."