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Mayor Announces Plan To Install LED Lights At Boston City Hall

BOSTON (CBS) -- Dreary Boston City Hall will be getting a much needed facelift when LED lighting is installed later this year.

The new lights will illuminate three sections of the site, including the administrative, public and symbolic spaces, according to a plan released Monday by Mayor Marty Walsh's Office.

The project will be put up for bid on Feb. 12, and construction is expected to start in April and be finished by the end of the summer.

Related: Walsh To Sign $400,000 Lighting Deal To Brighten City Hall

The high-efficiency fixtures will replace the current recessed lighting to spruce up the site and create a safer area for pedestrians.

"We are committed to creating a welcoming, lively City Hall Plaza, and installing new lights will make the plaza safer while connecting us to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market," Walsh said in a statement.

"The lighting restores the outside of City Hall to its original design and the LED technology will help us meet our sustainability goals."

Fixtures will shine "warm white light" directly onto the building, but they'll also be able to display multiple colors for special occasions. Some of them will be installed behind existing structures and added to new light posts, which will be coordinated with the new MBTA light poles, according to the statement.

The LED lights will have a 20-year life span, which is an improvement over the current four-year life span of the metal halide lamps, and save the city roughly 300,000 kilowatts per year.

The city is working with Eversource to acquire an energy incentive grant of about $76,000.

Arcade lighting will also be retrofitted to enhance the 1968 Heroic-style City Hall building, which is a pending landmark.

The Boston Landmarks Commission is reviewing the lighting plan and other future renovation plans, according to the statement.

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