Taking a sneak peak at City Hall

A handful of media visitors got an early peek inside Bellevue's new City Hall Friday.

With seven floors and 350,000 square feet, the building is about a third larger than the current facility on Main Street. When the new building opens Jan. 31, pedestrians will be able to approach from the northwest, walking through a concrete and grass plaza, and enter the building on the second floor.

They will then see the building's showcase, a two-story concourse with floor-to-ceiling windows and an epoxy terrazzo floor with a design inspired by the current of a river.

The interior of the building is covered with organic colors — greens, blues and blonds — and the exterior is a combination of terra-cotta brickwork and silver, metallic panels.

The new City Council chamber is a circular rotunda — its walls lined with long, narrow wood panels — that will seat twice as many people as the old chamber. The building is at 450 110th Ave. N.E.