Donning the obligatory hard hats and wielding prop shovels, a group of Fayetteville elected officials and special guests broke ceremonial ground Tuesday morning for the new City Hall complex.

The 10-acre site at 210 Stonewall Avenue, purchased from and formerly occupied by the Fayette County Board of Education, will soon be under construction for approximately 13 months to build a two-story administrative building and an expansive park with such amenities as a playground, splash pad, dog park and performance space. Mayor Ed Johnson called the project “the beginning of the revitalization of downtown Fayetteville.” City offices, including the City Council chamber, currently occupy a former school building on South Glynn Street.

The estimated cost of the project, whose planning began four years ago, is just over $24 million.