Tusayan is about to start designing a new Town Hall at the site of the old 7 Mile Lodge. Council Member Josh Collet has been working with the Town to conceptualize the facility which he says will be much more than a seat of local government, “The ideal is about versatility, to pack as much potential into the space as we can.”

Collet said the facility would be two stories totaling about 20 thousand square feet.

Here is a link to some preliminary plans presented to the Town Council is October.

He says the basic conceptual stage has wrapped up and the design stage is about to begin. Construction could start as soon as 18 months.

He envisions multiple rooms with movable walls to change the shape and layout inside the building to meet the community’s current and future needs.

Some non-traditional elements could include historical displays, space for medical exams, a sheriff’s substation, storage for a community youth program, and a community thrift shop. That’s in addition to traditional uses such as a council chamber and office space for town departments.

Collet said, “We want to get as much versatility in this as possible because we only get one bite at the apple and we need to make it count.”

Collet says all these multiple uses may seem overly ambitious until you consider the fact that it would be very difficult to add rooms after the fact. “We are trying to look as far ahead as possible and anticipate the needs of the town,” Collet added.

But he wants to point out none of the uses would be in competition with existing local businesses.

The current Tusayan Town Hall is located on land owned by the Grand Canyon Airport and Collet said the airport has been a wonderful partner over the years by the says the town now has the opportunity to stand on its own rather than rent space from the airport.