After a lengthy process in getting the federal government to transfer ownership of the land, formerly the Twin City Army Ammunition Plant Property, the $2.7 million building is essentially completed. One of the delays was turning over 2.7 acres of the arsenal property from the US Army to the Minnesota National Guard, which in turn handed the land over to the city.

The project was also delayed by heavy rains and finally by a construction strike last summer. A larger chunk of the arsenal property is also expected to change from federal to state hands for community use. About 1,800 acres on the eastern part of the 2,370-acre site are slated to be transferred to the Minnesota National Guard.

In the meantime, city offices are currently located in a temporary facility on West Round Lake Road. Planning began for a new city hall in the early 1990s and ground was broken in the fall of 2000. The new city hall is the first in a series of construction projects anticipated on the arsenal land.