CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — On Friday the City of Clearwater broke ground on a brand new city hall after being delayed due to back-to-back hurricanes.

The city hall will be named after Bill Horne, who served as the city manager of 20 years, and passed away unexpectedly right before his retirement.

“Bill Horne served the city in such a great capacity as city manager, and it’s an honor for me to share with everyone that this new city hall will be named after him,” Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector said.

The new facility will be a leed certified building, which is in line with the city’s greenprint sustainability plan.

The new city hall will serve as the administrative center for the City of Clearwater, bringing together the current municipal services building, police department, and parking garage all in one spot for more efficient operations.

The building will have offices for the city council, attorney, city manager, clerk, and other city offices.

“This is the missing piece to our city campus collaboration,” Clearwater City Manager Jennifer Poirrier said. “It’s going to create a one-stop shop.”

“Our old city hall had to be vacated because it was deteriorating,” Rector said. “We had a significant amount of asbestos, which was removed from that building.”

Rector said the new facility will help move the city forward after getting hit hard by the hurricanes.

“We’re still removing debris,” he said. “We’re still recovering from the hurricane, but we’re continuing to move this community in this city forward.”

Construction is expected to be completed by July 2026.