A $2.5 million interior renovation project at the historic A.B. Graham Building, 31 N. Limestone St., is expected to begin later this year. The offices affected by the relocation will be closed next week to allow for adequate time to move operations to the Bushnell Building.
The over 100-year-old A.B. Graham Building previously underwent an exterior renovation that included replacing windows and roof repair The building holds a lot of history to the Clark County community. It’s named after the founder of 4-H. During the renovation, several architectural details will be salvaged including the brass railings, marble on the walls and woodwork.
Clark County Commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt previously said the upgrades are needed.
“We’ve been putting band-aids on issues for a long time,” she said. “It’s time for us to do something fairly drastic here.”
The renovation at the A.B. Graham Building includes modernized electrical wiring, heating and air conditioning, fire suppression, plumbing and a new elevator to make the building handicap accessible. The county recently replaced windows and made improvements to the exterior of the building in 2017. Other issues include out-of-date electrical and HVAC systems, inefficient storage and an overall lack of modernity that people expect to see in the workplace, county officials said.
Clark County Auditor John Federer’s own office has no heat at all, according to officials and he’s forced to use a space heater to keep it warm during the winter.
The project was originally scheduled to be finished by June 2020, however, the timeline has been moved back. Bids for the project by contractors were too high with the old timeline, Clark County Spokesman Mike Cooper said, so officials elected to push the deadline to fall 2020.
The move worked, Clark County Administrator Jennifer Hutchison said during a regular meeting earlier this month. She said the county had received a better offer with the longer timeline.
The county is still working to finalize a contract with a contractor, Cooper said, but it’s expected to be finished soon.
The offices will remain open for business in the Bushnell Building until the project is completed in the fall of 2020. The portion of the building occupied by the Clark County Common Pleas Court Domestic Relations division recently moved to the Clark County Juvenile Court.
Continuing Coverage
The Springfield News-Sun has covered the renovations of the A.B. Graham building since officials upgraded the exterior and will continue to report updates for the project.
FACTS & FIGURES
$2.5: Cost in millions of A.B. Graham building renovation
100: Age of A.B. Graham building in years
2020: Year renovation project is expected to be completed
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