A construction project to move and renovate the Virginia Beach City data center has been pushed back by seven months amid design ‘enhancements’.

Renovations at Virginia Beach Municipal Center began in February, with plans including moving the city’s data center from the basement to the third floor.

When complete, Building 2 will be home to Virginia Beach Police Headquarters, the first precinct, and the city's data center. Building 2 renovation costs are estimated to be around $26 million and were due to be complete in the spring of 2022.

However, 13NewsNow reports a change in the design phase for the new data center has pushed the finish date by seven months. The completion of Building 2 is now scheduled for fall 2022, and city workers will move in by winter of 2022/2023.

According to a city document, ‘enhancements’ for the new data center were identified during the design phase.

“A change order was negotiated to modify the data center equipment racks, install power distribution units, and make needed changes to the server room’s heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems. These changes extended the contract schedule by 7 months.”

City officials said no additional funding is required for the renovations.

Building 2 of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center was the site of a mass shooting in 2019. A gunman killed 12 people in the building on May 31, 2019. The building has largely been empty since then with workers previously based there relocated to other Government offices.

The city’s data center remained in the building, and is connected to City Hall with a tunnel. According to official documents, IT staff still occupy the basement level to maintain operations.

The renovations are part of a massive city hall renovation program, which will see a new three-story city hall built adjacent to the current city hall.