CATSKILL — Construction on a proposed Greene County justice center could begin in early 2024, Administrator Shaun Groden said Thursday.
The Greene County Legislature approved the $28.8 million project Wednesday after discussing an amendment to the resolution that would avoid adding cost to the tentative 2024 county budget.
The final resolution adopted Wednesday calls for issuing $25 million in bond anticipation notes and adding $3.8 million in cash from unexpended fund balance to cover the total $28.8 million cost.
The building will house the offices of the Greene County District Attorney and Greene County Public Defender, and will have a parking garage on the first floor.
County officials received four prime bids from contractors to do the work. “Three were on target, but one came in higher than what we had budgeted for,” Groden said.
Groden said the challenges project planners have encountered have been caused by the future building’s location on the site of the former Greene County Sheriff’s office and county jail on Bridge Street behind the Greene County Courthouse in Catskill. The lot has no Main Street frontage and allows for a relatively small footprint.
Lawmakers planned to use the $25 million as the sole source of revenue for the project, but a complication prompted them to rethink the cost.
“There is a 38-foot drop from Clark Street to the courthouse,” Groden said. “To do the construction on the site, we would have to build a retaining wall. And the contractor, whoever it is, will have to drive pylons into the stone.”
Issuing the bonds will not add money to the budget because lawmakers are replacing a bond that has been retired with a new bond, Groden said. Contracts are expected to be awarded in November.
The project originated in 2021 when the county began searching for a qualified architect. At that time, Albany-based Thaler, Reilly, Wilson Architecture and Preservation firm was chosen for the job.
“The design had to be vertical rather than horizontal, and then we wanted to attach the building to the courthouse so people won’t have to go outside,” Groden said in June.