County building gets $1.5 million facelift, phase 1 in remodeling of county buildings – The Spectrum

Buy Photo

Remodeled county building off of the Boulevard.(Photo: Lexi Peery/Spectrum & Daily News)

The Washington County administrative building off St. George Boulevard recently got a facelift, with abouta $1.5 million price tag, according to county administrator Nicholle Felshaw.

The building that holds the Justice Court, Assessors and Recorders Office, Court Support Services and IT Services got new roofing, stucco, additional windows andother exterior work done the last six months. The revamping of this building is the first phase of several in updating and remodeling county buildings which some parts of the buildings date back to 1966, Felshaw said.

[We wanted] to just make it a place where it would retain the beauty for years to come, Felshaw said. Well have it for a very long time.

The county saw a need to update the building when officials realized the west side of the roof was in need of repair. Felshaw said the county made a "very conscientious" decision to remodel the building on the Boulevard because of the use of taxpayer money.

"Keeping in mind that tax dollars would be utilized, we did everything we could to patch the building [on the Boulevard] for as long as possible," Felshaw said.

The remodeling is part of a bigger push to revitalize county buildings in downtown St. George, making the area more attractive to visitors and businesses. Felshaw said having up-to-date county buildings can give residents a sense of pride in their county.

"In othercounties, their county buildings are a symbol of the county,for us to just to take that step [helps show]how beautiful St.George is,"Felshaw said.

The old Washington County Boulevard Office Building which has been renovated the past six months.(Photo: Courtesy/Nicholle Felshaw)

Construction began June 17, with MRW Design heading the project's architectural plans. Felshaw said Watts Construction Inc. was ahead of schedule for the most part throughout the last six months. The abnormally dry summer and fall helped expedite the process, but the heavy rains in recent weeks delayed the opening day. County workers and the public were still able to access the building during the renovation.

Eventually, the interior of the building will be remodeled, Felshaw said. But that will be after the county finishes some other construction projects on the nearby administrative building on Tabernacle Street.

A request for quotes has been sent out to build a new administrative building on Tabernacle Street. This next year will be spent securing an architectand contractor, and Felshaw said the county hopes to break ground by the end of 2020 on a new building.

Construction is now expected to last until May 2022, but because it's so early in the process, Felshaw said, the plans aren't definite. Besides updating the looks of the building, it would help consolidate county offices and departments into one main building.

"We are going to be building on the northeast corner of our block where we currently are," Felshaw said, referring to where the county's Habitat Conservation Plan administrationis now located. Where the HCP administration will be after construction is complete hasn't been decided yet.

"Its so nice for us to have something to be proud of," Felshaw said. "Now [the Boulevard building is]something were really proud of and were really excited to add to the beauty of the area."

There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 19 at 3 p.m. It will be held at the east upper parking lot at 87 North 200 East, St. George, Utah.

Lexi Peery is the environment, politics and development reporter for The Spectrum & Daily News, a USA TODAY Network newsroom based in southern Utah. You can reach her at lpeery@thespectrum.com and follow her on Twitter @LexiFP.

Read or Share this story: https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2019/12/17/county-building-open-after-over-1-million-facelift/2676730001/

Read the original post:
County building gets $1.5 million facelift, phase 1 in remodeling of county buildings - The Spectrum