State-Journal.com - Lawyers want to stay nearby

Photo By State Journal/Kelly MackeyThe exterior of the McClure building gets power washed Tuesday.

Local lawyers want to stay downtown.

The Franklin County Bar Association has voted unanimously for the McClure Building – at the corner of St. Clair and West Main – as temporary location for the courthouse while a $29 million judicial center is being built.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Larry Cleveland, who represents the local bar association on the judicial center board, said Thursday, “It only makes sense to place the temporary quarters in the McClure Building.

“It’s a central location and will not disrupt existing businesses depending on the courthouse. The McClure Building has very adequate space, and this will assist in the renovation of that building and help it to be occupied.”

Cleveland said 23 lawyers attended Monday’s bar association meeting where a temporary site was discussed.

Six other sites are under consideration for a temporary courthouse. A decision is expected by Thanksgiving and the move should be complete by early March.

In other action, the new judicial center, which will keep the 1835 courthouse at center stage, cleared another hurdle Thursday in the state Capitol.

A Court Facilities Standards Committee – comprised of representatives from the executive, judicial and legislative branches of state government – gave a unanimous preliminary approval to the project.

The committee reviewed design plans, cost estimates and financing proposals, which it does for new court facilities statewide.

State Sen. Robert Stivers chairs the 10-member committee, which includes among others Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr., state Rep. John Tilley and Administrative Office of the Courts Director Laurie Dudgeon.

Final approval of all plans, construction and financing will be made by AOC.

The Franklin County project was among 17 judicial center projects authorized by the 2006 General Assembly.

Franklin County Judge-Executive Ted Collins, chairman of the Project Development Board that oversees the site selection and construction, Franklin Chief Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate and architect Rick Kremer spoke to the committee and answered questions.

After the meeting, Collins said, “We’ve got the ball rolling. We’re moving in the right direction now and we can keep this project moving forward.”

Now that the committee has given preliminary approval, Collins said he feels comfortable closing the $1.45 million land acquisition deal with Good Shepherd Catholic Church.

Collins said he expects the property transfer to be completed by Thanksgiving.

In June, the Project Development Board agreed to purchase about 50 percent of the downtown Good Shepherd property including the church office building on Wapping Street, the elementary school on St. Clair, the playground and part of the gymnasium for $1.45 million.

The historic 1850 church building and the 1922 middle school building on Wapping Street are not included in the deal and will not be torn down.

After the meeting Minton said the Franklin County project “has been a longer process than we usually have. But I think the end result is good because it represents the coming together of a community. That’s a very significant thing for Frankfort.”

Minton said he likes the design.

“I’m a history major,” Minton said. “I’m a believer in keeping ties with the past and this Gideon Shyrock building is significant.”

Shyrock was the architect for the 1835 courthouse and the old State Capitol.

The design showcases the old courthouse, Minton said. “It preserves the past and represents the collaboration of all the various interests.”

Minton said he’s also pleased the Franklin County project will become the second judicial facility in the state eligible for LEED certification.

“One that’s being constructed now in Hancock County is pursuing LEED certification,” Minton said. “I think this is the way public buildings need to be built in the future – energy efficient and conscious of local environmental needs.”

The Project Development Board voted in September to spend an extra $141,000 to use Leadership in Energy Efficient Design standards as administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

AOC Director Dudgeon also said she likes the design, especially “the thought put into preserving the original structure and highlighting the original courthouse.

“Of all the projects, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a community as involved in the process. I think that’s a credit to this Project Development Board and county.”

State Supreme Court Justice Mary Noble, who attended the meeting, said afterward the best part of the Franklin County project has been the “huge amount of community participation.

“We have a superior architect (in Kremer with Louis & Henry Group of Louisville) and good planning protocols from all the courthouses that have been built in the last few years. We’ve kept the technical and construction aspects of it in mind, but have let the people say what they want.

“It’s come together in my mind in a spectacular design that I think pleases the community, but more than that it will be functional for courts and the community.

“My favorite thing is that they were able to keep the 1835 courthouse and incorporate it into an ultramodern building that is spacious. It’s got courtrooms to grow into and meets the needs of everybody that is integral to the court system. It was a long process but it was worth it.”

Judge Wingate, a member of the Project Development Board, said the committee asked a lot of good questions.

“We have to now look to where we’re going to relocate,” Wingate said. “That’s the next hurdle.”

James Bauman, an AOC architect for the Division of Capital Construction, is evaluating the sites and doing cost analyses.

AOC will make the final decision on the temporary site, Bauman said.

He said a decision should be made by Thanksgiving. But the move from the current courthouse to the temporary one won’t occur until late February or early March, Bauman said.

Collins had said earlier he hoped all of the relocated offices could be open for business on Jan. 4, 2010, after the New Year’s holiday weekend.

Besides the McClure Building, other sites AOC has looked at include the former Genesco Shoe factory at 112 Myrtle Ave.; a technology center at 669 Chamberlin Ave. in Prevention Park; a former Heck’s discount store at 803 Schenkel Lane; a building at 105 Sea Hero off U.S. 460; the PlanGraphics building at 112 E. Main St.; and a building at 150 Flynn Ave. in Sower Office Park.

Vance Mitchell, manager of AOC’s Division of Capital Construction, said Thursday the list has been narrowed to four sites. But Dudgeon said AOC couldn’t name those sites yet.

All of the offices and personnel in the entire courthouse on St. Clair will be housed in the temporary site during construction. Offices in the Fiscal Court Annex on West Main Street won’t be moved.