"After 71 years at 85 South Main Street, Cleveland has a new home." Mayor Josh Turner said it on Friday, September 18, 2026, while standing outside the new Cleveland City Hall Complex on Cantrell Road, according to Now Georgia. He had just cut the ribbon.
By then the move itself was more than a month old. City Hall at 85 South Main Street closed its doors at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 6. City offices and the police department opened for business at 55 Cantrell Road, off Helen Highway, the following Monday, August 10. The new complex has the city's offices, its council meeting space, and its police department all under one roof.
For anyone who lives in Cleveland, the open question is what happens to the two buildings the city left behind. Neither has a published schedule. Right now the only public building planned for downtown with real dates attached is one that hasn't been built yet: the new White County library on North Main.
Four Addresses, One Reshuffle
The move involved more buildings than the one on Cantrell Road. Here is where each address stands as of early October 2026.
| Address | What it was | What it is now | What has been announced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 South Main Street | City Hall for 71 years, leased from White County | Back with White County | No reuse plan. A natural-gas supply agreement is on file |
| 342 Campbell Street | Police headquarters and Oak Springs Community Center | Planned to become a community center | No opening date or budget |
| 55 Cantrell Road | An existing building the city bought | Cleveland Municipal Complex | Open since August 10, 2026 |
| 506 N. Main Street | Lot behind the Tax Commissioner's Office | Future White County library site | Groundbreaking targeted for fall 2026 |
Every one of these addresses is still changing. The city's piece is finished. The rest belongs to the county, to a building that is changing uses, and to a construction project with its money still lining up.
Cantrell Road Was Bought and Renovated, Not Built From Scratch
At the dedication, Turner explained that the city bought an existing building rather than building from the ground up. He said Mountain Craft Builders worked with the City of Cleveland to purchase it and make the changes needed to turn it into a municipal complex that could serve the city for decades. City Manager Kevin Harris described it the same way in August. He called it "a facility designed to meet Cleveland's needs for decades to come." He also asked residents for patience during the first few days while departments finished setting up technology and operations.
Woodman Life Chapter 565 in Cleveland gave the city a new flag and flagpole for the site. Barbara Thomas spoke for the chapter at the ceremony. She said the gift was meant "to anchor a powerful symbol right here at this new city hall location for our community to see."
City Council meetings moved later than the offices did. The council's August 17 meeting was still held at Oak Springs Community Center, 342 Campbell Street, a week after City Hall opened on Cantrell Road. The first council meeting in the new building was Monday, September 21, at 6:30 p.m. If you go to council meetings, Cantrell Road is the address from now on.
Paying a utility bill doesn't require going to either address. The City of Cleveland's public utilities page sends customers to the city's authorized Edmunds online bill-pay portal. It also warns that unauthorized lookalike websites may not deliver payments to the city. With City Hall at a new address, the official page is the safest place to start.
Campbell Street Is Going Back to Being a Community Center
The building at 342 Campbell Street has gone by two names. In May 2026, council minutes listed the meeting location as "Oak Springs Community Center/Police Department." By August's agenda, only the community center name was left.
With the police department gone, the city says it will convert the building into a community center. It describes that plan as keeping a commitment made to residents and businesses when the building was first renovated. City leaders also said they intend to preserve the building's history while adapting it for future community use.
So far that commitment has no timeline. No conversion schedule, renovation budget, or list of planned programs had been published as of early October. People hoping to book the space for a club meeting or a family event should expect to wait until the city announces its plans.
South Main Goes Back to the County, With No Plan Announced
The former City Hall has the least information behind it. Cleveland used 85 South Main Street under a long-term lease with White County, and the lease required the property to be used as City Hall. Now that the city has moved, ownership and use of the building go back to the county. Mayor Turner thanked the county for its partnership. He said, as reported by Access North Georgia, that the city was "pleased the County will now have the opportunity to repurpose the former City Hall property."
What the county will do with the building hasn't been announced. The only related action in county records so far comes from the White County Board of Commissioners' August 31, 2026 meeting. Commissioners approved a natural-gas supply agreement with Gas South for the former City Hall location. A gas contract keeps the building heated and maintained. It doesn't tell anyone what the building will be used for. The county's agenda center is where any reuse decision would first show up.
The city's Downtown Development Authority meets Tuesday, October 13, at 3 p.m., according to the city calendar. The posted listing doesn't say whether the former City Hall is on the agenda.
North Main Is the Only Address With a Schedule
Farther up Main Street, the county's library project has the details the other two buildings don't. White County's current library building in Cleveland is 6,000 square feet. The planned replacement is a two-story, 20,000-square-foot building on a lot behind the Tax Commissioner's Office at 506 N. Main Street. That's more than three times the floor space. The plans include:
- A separate story-hour space and a large children's area with its own activity room
- Space for tutors and soundproof rooms for video conferences
- A computer lab and a designated mail area
- A community room that holds up to 100 people
That 100-person community room is the only planned public meeting space in this reshuffle with a published capacity, while the plans for Campbell Street and South Main are still unknown.
The funding plan connects the library to a past county project. Commissioners voted unanimously to use $3 million in state funds for design costs. They also voted to take out a six-year bond for the rest of construction. The county had first asked for $2 million in Congressionally Directed Spending through U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff's office. Commission Chairman Travis Turner said at the time, "There's so much turmoil in Washington right now I'm not going to hold my breath." Commissioners chose County Manager Derick Canupp's recommended timeline. That plan calls for breaking ground in fall 2026, then taking out a bond of about $4.5 million after the county pays off its Yonah Preserve bonds in January 2027. On that schedule, the library would be finished in spring 2028.
That means the library's construction money depends on the county paying off its last big civic project. Yonah Preserve's Recreation Center on Asbestos Road opened in May 2025. In August 2026, the county manager's report said a library construction schedule had been set and shared with commissioners and library staff. The report did not include the dates. At the May 18 Cleveland City Council meeting, Nadine Wardenga presented naming and sponsorship opportunities for the new library. She said groundbreaking was planned for October or November. As of October 5, no groundbreaking has been confirmed publicly. The most recent White County News update says only that work is happening "behind the scenes" on the lot on U.S. 129 North.
Dates Already on the Calendar
These are the only published dates for Cleveland's civic buildings right now:
- Tuesday, October 13, 3 p.m. Downtown Development Authority meeting
- October or November 2026. Planned library groundbreaking at 506 N. Main Street
- January 2027. Yonah Preserve bonds scheduled to be paid off, which opens the way for the library construction bond
- Spring 2028. Projected library completion
None of the four dates involves 85 South Main or 342 Campbell Street. City business has a new address on Cantrell Road. The two buildings it came from are waiting for decisions that haven't been scheduled yet.
If you own property near South Main, Campbell Street, or the library lot on North Main and want to talk through what these changes could mean for you, Daniel and Cindy at Cynthia Beasley are glad to sit down with you and walk through it. Work With Daniel & Cindy.
