Bunkie's City Hall could be heading back to Main Street

BUNKIE – Afer more than a half century, City Hall could be moving back to Main Street.
Capital One Bank has donated a former bank data processing center building to the city to be used as a city hall.
The 6,000-square-foot facility originally served as a data processing center for Bunkie Bank & Trust, which merged with Hibernia National Bank in 1996. Hibernia later leased the building to the Avoyelles Parish Health Unit as a health care center. Since that lease ended in 2007, the building has been vacant. Hibernia was acquired by Capital One in November 2005.
Mayor Mike Robertson said the city will apply for grant funds to help cover the cost of moving into the new building. He didn’t know how long it would take the city to get the proper funding to renovate the building to make the move.
“The move will double the size of our current city hall, which will complement the economic growth of our city,” the mayor said. “With that said, we currently do not have the funds to move at this time. The current City Hall may be used to house an arts gallery and a museum that will help preserve the history of Bunkie.”
The city has been in its current location on Walnut Street since 1950. The current City Hall was renovated in 1976.