A new plan for court space in Fredericksburg would cost more than $15 million less than the plan City Council members were looking at this time last year.
Council members last night looked at two options to build new courts on land the city already owns along Princess Anne Street. The scenarios carried estimated price tags of $35.2 million and $39.7 million.
For several years now, Fredericksburg leaders have been trying to figure out how to modernize the city's court facilities. All three of the city's courts are now in buildings that are hard to secure and too small for future needs.
The historic Circuit Courthouse is so small, and would be so difficult to modernize for full-time court use that the state recently certified the building as substandard, a move that gave the city the power to charge additional fees on court filings to generate money to build new facilities.
Last night, an architectural team made up of Glave & Holmes and Perkins Eastman, which the city hired in May, recommended two options for new courts.
One would put a three-story building on the current site of the juvenile and domestic relations court. It would require the city to buy a privately owned property next door.
The general district and circuit court would be in that new building, and the juvenile court would be in the existing general district court building.
A tunnel under Charlotte Street would provide secure access for judges and prisoners to pass between the two buildings, and the public would enter each building from street level.
Estimated price: $35.2 million.
Another option would put a similar three-story building on the current site of the Princess Anne Street fire station. A two-story connector would link the two buildings.
Under this scenario, the current juvenile court would be demolished and turned into a 35-space surface parking lot to serve the courts.
This option was estimated to cost $39.7 million, including the cost of buying land for and relocating the fire station. City officials have been looking at land along Princess Anne Street and Lafayette Boulevard for that purpose.
Both of these options would require building new downtown public restrooms to replace the ones that are under the juvenile court.
Council members seemed pleased to be looking at a less-expensive plan than the one some of them appeared ready to move forward with a year ago. That plan would have put the courts on the Princess Anne Street post office site.
Its estimated cost of more than $55 million would have included buying land for and building a replacement facility for the post office.
Council members switched gears in February, when it dawned on them that the city couldn't afford a plan that expensive.
They'll talk more about how to proceed with building courts at their Nov. 13 retreat.
Emily Battle: 540/374-5413
Email: ebattle@freelancestar.com