Dover’s new city headquarters nears completion
DOVER – These are the final weeks before city offices move to a new location a block away.
The move from 110 E. Third St. to 321 N. Wooster Ave. has been anticipated since the city bought the former First Federal Bank building in 2024. Delays, including a significant one to install an elevator, erased initial estimates of a mid-2025 opening.
However, Mayor Shane Gunnoe says the finish line is now about a month away. He says the city’s occupancy permit has been approved and should arrive this week. He anticipates the move will be complete by July 20th, and City Council will meet at the new building for the first time that evening.
Once the mayor, service director and other city officials move, their old offices will become part of the police and fire stations. Gunnoe says the police department will expand into the rest of 122-year-old City Hall building. The fire department will renovate other spaces for living quarters and offices.
Officials have said council chambers on East Second Street will become a training area for safety forces. The city took out $3 million in bonds in 2024 to pay for the $1 million purchase price and renovations to both the new and old buildings. They will consolidate four different locations into the one new municipal center.