THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 9, 1995 TAG: 9507070658
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
The price of the proposed courthouse in downtown Suffolk increased by more than $1 million as the City Council approved the project's final design.
The city's best estimates had placed the cost at $13 million. On Wednesday, one of the project's designers raised the total estimate to $14,389,000.
The building's construction costs add up to about $99 per square foot, which the designer said was ``slightly less than the national average.''
The council made no comments about the increased price tag.
This is the second time in less than three months that the project's costs have increased. City officials had expected the increase.
In April, the city announced that the courthouse could not include a basement because of a high water table at the site, at the intersection of Main and Bank streets, in the heart of downtown. The solution was to add a third floor to the structure in lieu of a basement. That increased the cost from an estimated $12.5 million to $13 million.
Suffolk has long suffered from inadequate courtroom facilities. Not only is the city's court docket growing, but the General District Court building is so small that prisoners wait in the hallway with the general public. Offices are cramped, and the building is in disrepair. The same is true for the city's Circuit Courts, housed in city hall.
The new, 95,000-square-foot facility is expected to serve Suffolk's court needs for the next 15 to 20 years. The building's design allows for two additional courtrooms to be added.
The plans call for the building's main entrance to be at the corner of Bank and Main streets. The front door will open into a major hallway, off which the clerk of court, sheriff and Commonwealth's Attorney's offices will be located. Staff entrances will be at the rear of the building. Prisoners will be driven to an unloading area away from public areas.
The building will be constructed of both red brick and precast concrete with a sloping, copper-colored roof over the main entrance. The design, according to Jay Moore of The Moseley McClintock Group in Richmond, is intended to fit in with the surrounding downtown architecture.
A total of seven courtrooms will be in the building. Three circuit courtrooms will be on the third floor while the Juvenile-Domestic Relations and General District courts will have two rooms apiece on the second floor.
The timeline for the project now gets into full swing. The city is expected to receive bids for demolition of some surrounding buildings on Aug. 22. The city will advertise for construction bids in February 1996, and award the construction contract in April 1996. The building is expected to open sometime in late 1997.
The only comments made during the presentation were by Councilman Charles F. Brown, who asked if the city was making sure locals and minorities are hired to construct the facility. Mayor S. Chris Jones said the city was ``going to do everything we can to allow for equal opportunity in employment.'' ILLUSTRATION: An artist's rendering of the proposed courthouse in downtown
Suffolk, which is being designed by The Moseley McClintock Group in
Richmond.
by CNB