On Tuesday, the Mobile City Council unanimously authorized a $2.9 million contract with Goodwyn Mills Cawood for the partial design of the Mobile Civic Center.

“This is a 25% design contract,” Jim DeLapp, the city’s executive director of public works, said. “This design will help us get a much more close cost estimate, and then we’ll be able to proceed from there.”

The design contract covers 25% of the design work necessary for a complete renovation of the civic center, which is around 58 years old. The design work is expected to be completed at the end of the year, DeLapp said.

In addition to the design, the contract will address some outstanding questions, including an updated cost estimate and whether or not to keep the Expo Hall. In the original plan for the civic center proposed by Populous Architects, a consulting firm, proposed demolishing the Expo Hall and shifting the footprint of the civic center to the east. Populous also estimated that the renovation would cost around $170 million.

Last month, the city council allocated $34 million in surplus funds for the civic center, including $29 million for the construction of a parking garage. The $2.9 million for the design contract is included in the funds allocated.