Innisfil entered its next era with style Thursday as the new town hall was officially opened.

Tuxedos, gowns and classical music set the atmosphere as hundreds packed the $11-million building to watch dignitaries from around Simcoe County congratulate council on the state-of-the-art municipal building.

“We are green with envy,” Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Doug White said.

Essa Mayor David Guergis echoed White's words saying, “You are now the envy of all of Simcoe County. We look forward to your efforts to bring industry to the 400 corridor.”

Decked out in a tuxedo and wearing his official Chain of Office, Innisfil Mayor Brian Jackson basked in the accolades, as he joked with many of the well wishers.

“This is a unique building,” he told the audience, adding the 35,000 square foot building had been designed specifically for the operations of municipal government.

“I hope our residents are impressed with the building and recognize what staff and council have tried to do.”

Rev. Howard Courtney, who blessed the building along with Rabbi Meyer Feldman, congratulated Innisfil's politicians for pushing ahead with the project and ignoring naysayers in the community.

“This facility is here today because of your perseverance,” he told council. “May this facility stand free from corruption and remain a friendly place where residents can find help and good customer service.”

Following several congratulatory speeches, Jackson, Deputy Mayor Gord Wauchope and Aecon Buildings vice-president Keith Williams unveiled a plaque to commemorate the building.

A piper then led council to the spacious foyer, where a ribbon was cut signifying the town hall's June 26, 2008 opening.

Plans for the town first got underway in 2004 and work on the building began in 2006. The town hall was designed with a barn-like shape on one side to acknowledge Innisfil's rural roots and a modern institutional look on the other to recognize the town's urban future.

The town hall is the centrepiece of a municipal plaza in Barclay that includes the new recreational centre and a new police station, which is being retrofitted into the old town hall. Pathways will connect the facilities.