Lexington is looking for a private developer for a new city hall. Again.

Lexington is again looking for a private developer to help it find a new home for most of the city’s operations.

The city released its request for proposals — a type of bid — for a new, 100,000-square-foot city government center in September. All proposals are due by Nov. 8.

For decades, the city has started and stopped its quest to replace its current home at 200 E. Main Street. It has spent more than $475,000 since 2016 on studying the effort.

Earlier this year, it released a request for proposals. The two bids the city received were ultimately rejected.

But Brandi Peacher, a project manager for the city, said the latest request for proposals was different.

This request is for a much smaller footprint — 100,000 square feet. Also, developers can propose to use the city’s current buildings on Main Street — either to renovate or tear them down. The previous bid did not allow the use of the city’s current building.

A 2023 study by Ernst & Young and Kersey and Kersey showed the city needed about 160,000 square feet of space. The city currently has 248,000 square feet over three buildings— the main government center at 200 E. Main St., the Switow building at 212 E. Main St. and the Phoenix building at 101 E. Vine St.

The previous bid included space to replace offices in the Phoenix building, which houses many of the city’s development-related offices, such as building permits and planning.

Under the current proposal, the city would keep the Phoenix building, Peacher said.

“We have decreased the square footage, which will hopefully decrease the price,” Peacher said.

The city is looking for a public-private partnership that would allow the city to eventually own the building and the property. The city is looking for possible land in its downtown core.

The current building at 200 E. Main Street is the former Lafayette Hotel, completed in 1920, and was supposed to be a temporary home for the merged government when it moved into the building in the late 1970s.

The former Lafayette Hotel has needed extensive renovations over the years and has been retrofitted to house city operations. It can be cumbersome and tricky for people with mobility issues. It’s also difficult to navigate.

Multiple attempts to find a new home for city government have been explored but ultimately scuttled.

In 2018, the city considered leasing the former Lexington Herald-Leader building on Midland Avenue through a private-public partnership. However, that deal was ultimately nixed. Other options the city has pursued included buying the Central Library building or putting a new government center at Phoenix Park.

At one point there was a proposal to put a new city government center at what is now the City Center.

Peacher said the goal is to know by early next year if a new city government is viable. Mayor Linda Gorton proposes her budget in late April.