Lebanon’s city government is back in downtown after a nearly six decade absence.
Several hundred guests attended a grand opening and ribbon cutting yesterday at the former headquarters of HACC, 735 Cumberland St. The three-story building was purchased by the city in 2021 and has been fully renovated for city government.
The city had been sharing space with Lebanon County in the Lebanon County-City Municipal Building since the 1960s.
City offices, plus the police department, will occupy the first and second floors of the Cumberland Street structure, while the Lebanon campus of HACC — formerly known as Harrisburg Area Community College — will continue to occupy the third floor as the city’s tenant.
Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello said the city now has 28,000 square feet of space, not counting the building’s atrium. It had about 18,000 square feet at the municipal building.
Capello said that all city offices will have their public areas and employee work areas separated by locked doors during business hours, making building-wide security, such as metal detectors at entrances, unnecessary.
Guests mingled in the sun-dappled atrium before hearing remarks from Capello and others involved in the purchase and renovation of the facility.
The Lebanon Police Department has also followed city government from the Municipal Building to downtown. A new garage was built at the rear of the building to house police and other city vehicles.
The building’s large multi-purpose room, which will serve as city council chambers, has been named after the late Lebanon philanthropist Frank Dixon, who lobbied for a downtown city hall since the 1960s and donated the $250,000 down payment to purchase the building.
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