Commissioners to decide fate of vintage courthouse next week

Published 10:48 am Friday, July 28, 2017

By Ted Yoakum

After years of planning and discussion surrounding the 120-year-old structure, Cass County leaders will soon make its most important decision to date on the future of the county’s vintage courthouse.

The Cass County Board of Commissioners will decide whether or not retain ownership of the downtown Cassopolis structure during its meeting at 7 p.m. next Thursday at the county annex, 120 N. Broadway St., Cassopolis. The vote will set the course for the next phase of the county’s ongoing project to renovate and reuse the 1897 courthouse, which has been closed to the public since the opening of the Cass County Law and Courts Building in 2003.

The commissioners will essentially decide between one of two paths for the courthouse project:

• The county will continue to own and operate the vintage courthouse, and will pursue placing a millage proposal on the ballot during one of next year’s elections, possibly the midterm election in November

• The county will sell the property to a private developer to renovate and reuse the building, which would be selected and approved by the board of commissioners following an extensive request for proposal proceeds

The vote will come after several months of discussions amongst members of the county government as well the public at large. Earlier this year, the county organized a series of presentations that featured talks by various representatives with state and national historical preservation agencies, who talked about the different funding options available to pay for renovations.

“I expect, following next week’s meeting, to have a direction in which to take the project,” said Cass County Administrator Karen Folks. “Once I get that, I will know which avenues we will need to march down.”

Whatever choice the board makes, it could be a potentially historic decision that will reverberate throughout the county.

The county has already spent around $200,000 to stabilize the old three-story courthouse, which has suffered damage from water and mold contamination since its closure nearly 14 years ago. Since the board voted to allocate $275,000 for preliminary work to the building, the county has installed a new roof and other infrastructural elements, though no work has been done to remove the mold buildup inside.

Should the commissioners decide to retain ownership of the building, county leaders will have to hire companies to do a full assessment of the costs that will be necessary to renovate the courthouse. Once they have a solid estimate, they will be able to determine the proper millage rate to access on county properties in order to pay for the construction.

If the county continues to operate the building, leaders would likely relocate many, if not all, county government offices to the courthouse from the
annex next door.

In the event the board decides to hand the reins over to a private developer, the county would begin soliciting requests from vendors for the project. The board would then vote on which developer they would like to sell the building to, which will allow the county to have input on the function the renovated structure would provide to residents, whether that be housing, office space, a restaurant or other possibilities.

The buyer would absorb the remaining costs for redevelopment — some of which they may be able to recoup through state and federal tax credits, Folks said.

No matter what choice the board makes, the county will respect the wishes of the public, who, according to the results of a survey issued to county residents several years ago, are overwhelmingly in favor of leaving the structure in tact, the administrator said.

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