The John C. Watts Federal Building on Broadway has been ruled out officially as a site for a new Franklin County Judicial Center.
The General Services Administration, the federal government's landlord, says it's not available and there are no plans otherwise. Negotiations for the Model Laundry site are continuing, officials say.
Planners for a new $30 million judicial center made the downtown Watts site their number 1 choice and had asked Congressman Ben Chandler, a Versailles Democrat, for help in getting it.
Chandler said he'd been told the Watts building was 80 percent full and rules prohibit it from being declared excess.
However, in a May 7 letter to Craig Dawson, GSA regional administrator in Atlanta, Chandler said Franklin County officials "dispute" the contention that the Watts building is 80 percent occupied.
Saying the federal site "is ideally located" for a Franklin County Judicial Center, Chandler asked GSA to "re-evaluate its determination" regarding the Watts building.
Responding in a May 22 letter to Chandler, Dawson said, "GSA has carefully reviewed the need for the Watts (building) and has determined there is a continuing federal need for this property. The building is 84 percent occupied, and there is additional interest in the vacant space from the federal community.
"The U.S. Courts, which are a primary tenant of the space, have not identified a need for additional space in Frankfort, and a new federal courthouse in Frankfort currently is not part of any long range plan."
Chandler said GSA's decision "is disappointing. But nonetheless the decision of this agency, which by law is charged with the disposition of federal property, appears to be final.
"It is my hope that local officials can identify an alternate strategy in the near future, and if the federal government is involved I would be glad to be part of the solution," Chandler told The State Journal Friday.
According to Chandler's Lexington office, GSA says the agencies currently located at the Watts building are: District Court, Magistrate Court, Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Probation, U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Marshals, Department of Transportation's Motor Car Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration, FBI, Fish and Wildlife, and Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
The Franklin County Project Development Board " charged with finding a site for the judicial center and overseeing construction " was expecting a response from GSA by June 30, its next regular meeting.
Franklin County Judge-Executive Ted Collins, chairman of the board, said Friday he has a copy of Dawson's letter but wanted to share it with other members before commenting.
"I need to ask them if they want to pursue it further," Collins said. "I can't make that decision on my own. I don't know if we can brainstorm and come up with other ways to get the property."
Meanwhile, Collins said the board still has County Attorney Rick Sparks negotiating with property owners in the block behind the Frankfort Convention Center " between Clinton and Mero streets, known as the old Model Laundry site.
That block was the board's top-priority before the Watts building became a possibility.
Sparks said Friday, "Nothing has changed in terms of my marching orders. I'm only working on the Model Laundry property. I've contacted all the property owners (of about 10 parcels) trying to find out about their willingness to sell and a sale price. Those negotiations are continuing."
The board's budget for site acquisition is $1.6 million.
In his letter to Dawson, Chandler also had asked GSA for "procedural guidance" on disposition, "including the feasibility of transferring ownership from the federal government to the state whereby the state provides the federal government with all space necessary to accommodate its continued needs."
In reply, Dawson said, "Although there are no plans for disposal of the asset," he included at Chandler's request the disposition procedure:
>Once GSA declares a building excess, the property is screened with other federal agencies.
>If there is no identified federal government need, the property will be determined surplus.
>Once a property is determined surplus, it must be screened through Housing and Urban Development
to determine suitability for homeless assistance providers.
>If HUD determines the property suitable, GSA must give priority to homeless assistance providers.
>If there is no interest from homeless assistance providers, the building would then be made available to public bodies either through public benefit conveyance or negotiated sale, depending on the
property's highest and best use.
"Although co-location of agencies in a state-owned property is conceivable from a leasehold perspective, GSA would not pursue such an option when appropriate federally-controlled space is available to accommodate the need like the case in Frankfort," Dawson's letter said.