Robbinsville – Amid a flurry of discussion over conceptual plans for a new Graham County Justice Center – which would be built off West Fort Hill Road – Commissioner Connie Orr asked a question a lot of people have been probably wondering themselves: why not build a new courthouse right where the existing courthouse is?
The discussion arose during the Board of Commissioner’s Aug. 16 meeting.
“I’d like to save the courthouse,” Orr told the board, “and the highest and best use of the courthouse is as a courthouse.”
“It needs to be preserved, no matter what,” said commissioner Dale Wiggins.
The existing courthouse, which is registered in the National Register of Historic Places, was itself built over the footprint of the 1872-vintage wooden courthouse that preceded it. The original courthouse was razed after its main floor collapsed during a high-profile trial in the early 20th century. The lot and county-owned property adjacent to it come in a less than 1 acre.
Graham County is now making plans for a centralized justice center on an 11-acre parcel off West Fort Hill Road.
The project would move local courts, administrative offices, the Sheriff’s Department and the Graham County Detention Center, with a target date for completion of the facility is fall 2025.
The cost is estimated at around $20 million – only $5 million of which has been secured. Graham County’s state legislative delegation is expected to seek state funding for the balance during next year’s session in Raleigh.
The project came as the result of a 2017 order from Superior Court Judge William Coward, decrying substandard conditions at the current Graham County Courthouse, a facility built in 1942 that includes one courtroom, cramped administrative offices, substandard jury accommodations, and an overcrowded and dilapidated county jail. Further, the building is not Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant.
Marino issued a request for qualifications for prospective architectural and engineering services that provides a completion date of fall 2025. The building as envisioned would be a 58,000-square-foot facility.
The project would leave the existing courthouse vacant and deprive downtown of a significant economic engine for downtown businesses. Also, not part of the discussion is how increased vehicle traffic on Five Point Road and West Fort Hill Road will be dealt with once a justice center opens off West Fort Hill Road.
Some communities – like Sylva in Jackson County – have converted former courthouses into museums and cultural arts centers.
No decisions have been made in Graham County, and earlier public conversations among Graham County officials showed an interest in moving county offices to the vacated courthouse out of the Graham County Community Building on Knight Street. Such a move would require additional funding to refurbish and rehabilitate the old courthouse.
Orr’s proposal would apply the $20 million downtown, suggesting that a new courthouse rise from the location of the two previous courthouses.
Orr, without strong objection from other commissioners, asked for cost estimates and architectural renderings for a new courthouse at the old location. Commissioner Jacob Nelms – who is also the county’s building inspector – said such a project would be “really difficult” and would require multiple stories to accommodate all the necessary uses.
While the old courthouse needs significant upgrades, Marino said structurally is is one of the strongest buildings in the county. He said a concept of a new courthouse at the old courthouse’s location would be “very interesting to see.”