After years of discussion, the ACC Commission has finally decided on the location of the new judicial center: 120 W. Dougherty Street, the current site of the ACC Planning Department. The commission has also approved a tentative six-story concept for the new building, which will span over 200,000 square feet.
The project is currently funded with $77 million from SPLOST 2020. This amount, which was never expected to be sufficient, now covers only a third of the $225 million estimated cost. According to ACC staff, about 35% of the increase is due to inflation in the cost of building materials. The rest is due to the additional costs of building vertically in the downtown area and the expanded needs of our local judicial system.
Despite the expense, the downtown site was chosen because of public preference and also because of the improved operational efficiency and accessibility the location offers. For example, 120 W. Dougherty Street, which the ACC government already owns, is served by multiple transit routes going in both directions.
Chief State Court Judge Charles Auslander and Chief Superior Court Judge Lisa Lott spoke during public comment in favor of the new site and other recommendations.
“The courthouse that we sit in now is a glorious building. It’s absolutely beautiful, but it has outlived our needs. We are so desperately in need of more space and different security than was required in 1900 when the building was built,” Lott said.
Commissioners voted unanimously to accept the Dougherty Street site, tentative design and general plan for how construction will be funded by issuing bonds through a new urban redevelopment agency. However, commissioners did express concerns about the project’s expense and about the potential impact construction will have on First AME Church, which is immediately adjacent to the planned site.
“We have a very historic church right next door. We have our north downtown Athens community right next door,” Commissioner Melissa Link said. “I want to ensure that those folks have direct input moving forward on the design of the building.”
“We talk about $200 million. How are we going to fund that? That has to be a big consideration moving forward,” Commissioner Dexter Fisher said. “I wish they would give us some other alternatives we could look at besides going six stories. Could we do four stories and still use the old courthouse for some other things?”
Commissioners could decide to use the bulk of the next SPLOST to pay off the debt which will be incurred during construction of the judicial center. But if voters reject SPLOST at the ballot box, a very large property tax hike (estimated at 2.59 mils) may become necessary.
If all goes according to plan, construction of the new judicial center will start in early 2028 and will take about two years.
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