Just over three months after the city of Burbank, Calif, broke ground on a new Community Services Building, the structure is taking shape at a pace that is turning heads.

The 72,000-square-foot steel building facility will house several city departments, replacing the Municipal Services Building that was destroyed due to damage incurred during the 1994 Northridge earthquakes.

Since the metal building's demolition, many city employees have worked out of temporary trailers.

Construction crews have dug all the underground trenching at the project site, set the concrete foundation of the commercial steel building and built all retaining walls.

By next week, columns will be going up, with steel reinforcements put in shortly after, Public Works Director Bonnie Teaford said.

"We are right on schedule," she said. "We are exactly where we thought we would be."

And in an added twist, the project — which was delayed several years due in part to budgetary constraints — is moving forward so far at a less than expected cost.

"Nobody cares because we're early in the project, but we're under budget by like $175,000 right now, which is great," Teaford said.

The overall working budget for the project is approximately $38 million, a metal building price tag that jumped about $10 million since the design phase first went before the council in November 2004.

Soaring construction and fuel costs were largely to blame.

Once completed, the Community Services Building will simplify permitting processes for developers, business persons and residents who have to deal with several different city departments during the course of a project.

More than 13 years in the making, the facility will be a legacy building that is the product of combined and tireless efforts of city staff and officials, said City Manager Mary Alvord.

"We've been through a lot of ups and downs getting to this point," she said. "But I'm thrilled that we're there and come next July, just a little over a year from now, we'll actually be, if all goes well … moving employees into that building."

The metal building will house the city's Community Development, Public Works, Public Information and Parks, Recreation and Community Services departments, among others.

Designers have aimed to win Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification upon completion, which requires energy-efficient and environmentally friendly operation of the metal building.