Thurston County Commissioners hear ideas on new courthouse

Thurston County Commissioners were briefed Wednesday afternoon about remodeling or relocating the county’s courthouses and offices.

A standing-room-only crowd of mostly county officials and workers attended the two-hour session, which included highlights of a four-month feasibility study on the Thurston County Courthouse needs. That includes about $5 million in repairs and upgrades during the next five years, according to Martin Casey, director of Central Services for Thurston County.

The report didn’t identify specific locations for sites outside of the current complex, but properties are available that would fit into the plans, said Ron Thomas with Thomas Architecture Studio of Olympia.

“At this point, this is just meant to be a study,” he said. “Commissioners have asked us to be as objective as possible.”

Consultants based their recommendations on the current needs of the county and its nearly 500 workers. Several departments are short of critical space, Thomas told the commissioners.

“Some were woefully short, and some were fine,” he said.

The options suggested by Casey, Thomas and Robert Schwartz of HOK included:

▪ Staying at the existing hilltop campus: This concept includes remodeling all of the buildings on the 21-acre campus.

“The structure would remain, but we would look at opportunities to bring more light into these facilities, new roofing,” Thomas said. “In essence, it would be a like-new building.”

A remodel could extend the usable life of the county’s buildings by 30 to 50 years, and could take up to four-plus years to complete because the work would need to be done in phases, Thomas said.

As part of this plan, a new parking structure could be added to the county’s Building 5.

Estimated cost for the entire project would be about $196 million.

▪ Urban block: This consolidated scheme would relocate all county services, including courts, administration, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office and staff into one area in downtown Olympia. The plan would include a 1,200-space parking structure.

The county would need three blocks, or 4.3 acres, for this plan, and the estimated cost would be about $171 million, according to the report.

If the county’s services were spread out on five parcels downtown, the cost would drop to about $168 million.

▪ Urban campus: This plan would relocate all of the county services to a site near, but not in, downtown.

Moving to a neighborhood in the urban area of the county but away from downtown would allow for more flexibility in design options — buildings can be spread out, or there’s potential for basements which might not be possible downtown due to sea level concerns, the consultants said.

But that plan wouldn’t boost downtown economic development as much, and that was one of the main drivers behind a proposal to relocate the county’s court services.

The estimated cost is $178 million.

▪ Suburban campus: This proposal would relocate county services to new facilities built on a campus outside of the urban area. Estimated cost would be $162 million. This option would likely have the least economic impact on downtown, and transit could be an issue, the consultants said.

During the briefing, the commissioners heard a variety of options on how to pay for new courthouse facilities, including asking voters to approve a general obligation bond.

“The last time this was attempted, around 10 years ago, it was a 38 percent yes vote, 62 percent no,” Thomas said. “It is in our opinion that this would be a no.”

The city also could partner with the city of Olympia, Port of Olympia or local businesses to develop a parking garage, or work with a public-private entity that could develop the complex and partner with the county to use it under a long-term lease, Thomas said.

Casey said the commissioners should take the study into consideration as it plans for the coming budget and capital facilities plan.

This story was originally published September 9, 2015 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Thurston County Commissioners hear ideas on new courthouse."