Feb 14, 2022 4 min read

Washington County officials will have a structural integrity study performed on the Courthouse Square parking garage to see if the building can be salvaged and eventually used in a different capacity.

The study by Walker Consultants of Pittsburgh will determine whether repairs can be made on the garage at a lower cost than what was estimated two years ago when the commissioners decided to move the county offices out of Courthouse Square and into the nearby Crossroads Building.

Commission Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan said Friday they are not able to move all county offices into the Crossroads Center building immediately because numerous tenants are in the middle of leases that won’t expire for several more years from the previous landlord. She said the addition of a seventh judge in the Washington County Courthouse, prompting the construction of a new courtroom that forced the recent move of the register of wills and eventually the prothonotary, means the county needs more office space.

“If that report comes back that it can be fixed at a lower price, we will consider saving that building,” Irey Vaughan said, adding that the coronavirus pandemic has showed the need for more spacious work environments that can spread employees out.

The decision to attempt to save the Courthouse Square building is somewhat surprising since the commissioners appeared ready to abandon it, although it was unclear what would eventually happen to the property. The garage has been leak-prone, and the lowest bid the county received in 2020 to repair the building came in at more than $10 million, which Irey Vaughan and Commissioner Nick Sherman determined was too much to spend. Instead, the commissioners voted 2-1 in November 2020 to purchase the Crossroads Center across West Beau Street for $10 million, with Commissioner Larry Maggi opposing the purchase.

Maggi said Friday that the $10 million bid to repair the Courthouse Square building was the “Cadillac version” that included a total renovation. He thinks it’s a good idea to see if the more than 40-year-old building can be saved, and he doesn’t believe it will be cost-prohibitive to make the necessary repairs.

“I think it’s a good decision. I always thought that was a good, solid building that just needs some work,” Maggi said. “I’m glad it’s not going to come under the wrecking ball, and I think it’s good we’ll still be able to continue to use it.”

While most county departments have been transferred to the Crossroads Center – including the county commissioners’ offices last week – several of them still remain at Courthouse Square, including the elections office.

“We can’t move everyone into Crossroads because of leases in place for the next five years-plus,” Irey Vaughan said. “For now, (Courthouse Square) building will need to remain, so we need to make sure that garage is safe.”

Irey Vaughan said if they can fix the garage at a reasonable price, the county could “retrofit” the Courthouse Square building and use it for other purposes. In addition to county offices, she theorized it could be possibly be used as a secure facility for work-release or weekend inmates who would normally spend nights at the county jail. Other ideas could utilize parts of the building for an updated booking center.

While it’s too soon to make definitive plans, the repairs and renovations will likely be paid for using some of the nearly $100 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act stimulus money the county received last year.

“Right now, everything is on the table,” Irey Vaughan said. “The influx of the Rescue Plan money gives us the flexibility of considering our needs, both our future needs and current needs.”

The commissioners agreed at their Feb. 3 voting meeting to spend $36,600 for Walker Consultants of Pittsburgh to perform the study, although there is no timeline on when the report will be returned to county officials. The study is being paid using Act 13 funds from impact fees paid by the natural gas drilling industry.