- By Marcia E. Lynch
- News
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The expert analysis took a critical look at the County’s space needs, considering a number of alternative space-use configuration options, to determine the cost-effectiveness of housing a number of County legislative and administrative options in a Center of Government building, as first recommended in the County’s Space Use Master Plan back in 2005 and then included in the County’s 20-Year Capital Plan, which had been projected for development in 2016.
Facilities Director Arel LeMaro and HOLT Architects president Graham Gillespie provided a detailed presentation on the Center of Government study and its findings, prepared with oversight from the Legislature’s Capital Plan Review Committee over the past few years.
Considering potential alternatives, including construction of a Center of Government building on the site of the Old Library, expansion and renovation of the County’s Annex C building, and renovation of the Human Services Annex, the consultants determined that the 20-year long-term cost of consolidation into a single Center of Government building would be substantially more expensive than other options, and would produce an estimated cost of approximately $20 million, as much as $7.5 million more than leaving departments in their current space.
The consultants advised that a configuration involving a three-story addition to Building C would be the most cost-effective new-construction option, at a $13.5 million estimated 20-year cost—still about $500,000 more expensive than the status quo. Following receipt of the consultants’ report, the committee recommended and the Legislature approved a design that could, for at least the near term, accommodate both Legislature Chambers and offices in the second floor of the Old Courthouse, avoiding approximately $2.6 million in construction costs. With the Office for the Aging confirmed for location in the Human Services Annex, and two Community Justice Center programs relocated to existing space, it was noted that only the Day Reporting Program remains without an identified relocation site.
The Legislature’s action notes that the business-case analysis “allowed the County to take an approach toward its space needs that placed the interests of the taxpayers first and has led to a pragmatic, cost-effective solution to nearly all of the County’s near-term space needs,” and that the information and perspectives developed through the analysis will have enduring value, should the Legislature choose to reevaluate future space needs.
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