Construction plans for the former Richwood Bank building and Union County Courthouse are set to move forward.
County Commissioners passed resolutions Tuesday granting permission to proceed on the project, which includes both the courthouse and renovations to the bank building at 249 W. Fifth St., which will eventually house the office of Union County Prosecutor Dave Phillips.
“We’re glad to get these resolutions passed after several false starts,” said County Administrator Tim Hansley.
Construction will start next week with the bank building first before moving to the courthouse.
Changes include the renovations to the interior to create office space for the prosecutor but additional square footage will also be added.
Workers are scheduled to take over the parking lot behind the bank building starting Monday, June 3. That is when construction trailers and equipment will be brought to the site.
“We haven’t had our first construction meeting. It will be (June 6). We did have a pre-construction meeting to talk about the area and how to start,” said Letitia Rayl, assistant county administrator and budget officer. “There will be disruption to traffic to the courthouse and around it but the plan is that it will be minimal. We do want people to be aware of this as they travel around the building.”
The project hit several delays along the way, especially during the bidding process.
Initial estimates had construction coming in at just over $3.1 million; however, bids coming into the county where closer to $4 million and by law, the county cannot accept a bid that is more than 10% higher than the architect’s original estimate.
Officials had Fred Pack, construction administrator with the architectural firm Silling Associates Inc. in Charleston, WV create a new estimate for the project, factoring in the growth around the county and the larger scale construction projects being taken on by contractors.
The final bid for both the Richwood building and courthouse construction was for $3,391,700 and went to Westerheide Construction Company of Sidney.
Details of the project remain the same but there will be one subtraction to the expansion plans.
“We were going to do a monumental staircase and elevator on the north side but decided against it,” Rayl said. “That is still in the works and will be done later.”
Plans still call for an expansion of the lobby between the courthouse and the justice center as well as the public entryway on the south side of the buildings.
Rayl said the changes would improve security for both the courthouse and the justice center.
County officials still hope to make other additions to the courthouse in the future.
Plans would bring in additional space for the Sheriff’s Office as well as include room for a possible third judge.
There is a groundbreaking ceremony planned for the construction site June 6 at 8:30 a.m.