Building should be complete by Feb. 1

Construction of the new Polk County Republican headquarters building, located on Peak Street in Columbus, is moving along, with Republican officials saying it should be complete by Feb. 1.

Polk Republican officials broke ground on the property on Sept. 27, 2011, and construction of the steel framework of the building began in October 2011.

Original estimates were that the building would be complete by the end of the year, but construction was delayed several times by weather, mainly heavy rains.

The building is 2,400 square feet and is made of steel, but the exterior is being made to look like other buildings in Columbus. Brickwork on the building began this week.

The new building is placed more centrally on the lot than the previous building, with service and emergency vehicles having a large access area to the left of the building. Formerly, the service area to the rear of the building giving access to other businesses was on the right side of the building.

Parking for the Republican Headquarters will now be in the rear of the building.

The former building was torn down last year after the roof collapsed from a snowstorm in December 2009. The original building was initially built to house the Columbus Post Office in the 1950s or 1960s.