Councillors will vote this afternoon on Galway City Council taking out a fresh loan towards the planned new City Hall at Crown Square in Mervue.
The first €45m loan approved in 2022 was for the purchase of the building - and this latest loan would be worth €60m, to cover various projects including the Crown Square fitout.
A meeting at City Hall ahead of the vote has heard the projected fitout cost has spiralled due to "stratospheric" construction inflation.
Since councillors voted to approve a loan in July 2022, City Hall's planned relocation to Crown Square has been mired in controversy.
There have been endless claims that it was rushed, that alternative options weren't properly explored, and staff were left in the dark about the whole process.
But the biggest question of all was, and still is - is the move value for money, considering its the taxpayer footing the bill?
According to two independent property valuations, the building itself has dropped in value by around €8m - but their ultimate conclusion is that it did represent good value in 2022, when the commercial landscape was considerably different.
The executive at City Hall also argues the move to Crown Square was, and remains, the only feasible solution - partially because there's no other building in the city big enough.
Other options were looked at - including a brand new build on a greenfield site, and the extensive refurbishment and upgrade of the existing building.
But those options were either predicted to cost a lot more money, or take years to deliver - with the purchase of Crown Square being seen as the most cost-effective, efficient solution.
There was a special briefing for media held at the Crown Square building this morning - which at the moment is effectively a shell, meaning there's not much to look at.
But a 3D virtual tour offered a good insight in what it could be, and how it'll be different from the current City Hall.
A large, spacious building flooded with natural light across three storeys, all built around a central atrium, with an emphasis on open-plan.
But this all depends on a vote this afternoon - where councillors will have to say yes or no to the €60m loan needed to transform that virtual vision into a reality.
