"The need for this facility grows more critical with eachpassing day," Robey notes. "By approaching this situation with aprivate sector solution, I am hopeful that we can find a creativeway to move this project forward that is acceptable within ourrevenue limitations." The county office facility, the George HowardBuilding, was constructed in 1976, while the courthouse was builtin 1843.

Two locations in the city have been isolated as the site for thenew development, which would either be one large facility rangingfrom 300,000 sf to 350,000 sf, or a single 250,000-sf officebuilding and a 150,000-sf structure to house the CircuitCourthouse. The complex could sit on a 25-acre county-owned parceloff Route 40, or it could be erected on the site of the existingcourthouse's parking lot.

The idea of replacing the older government facilities is notnew; previous plans originated in 2000 had been put off due tofinancial concerns. This time around, however, there are new ideasfor financing the project, such as selling two assets: 6751Columbia Gateway Dr., built in 1990 and assessed at a current valueof about $12.3 million; and the Thomas Dorsey Building at 9250Bendix Rd., which was constructed 34 years ago and has a currentassessed value of $8.4 million. The chosen private developer willalso be expected to help conceive financing options.