City Court Presentations Wrap Up, Officials Talk Next Steps

During a second night of public meetings, representatives from two design-build consortiums presented their visions for a new downtown court facility to the Fredericksburg City Council last night. the City Council now enters into an evaluation phase which could result in a construction contract awarded by July. 

Last night's meeting was kicked off with a presentation from the W.M. Jordan Co. design-build team, additionally comprised of Wiley Wilson and James O. McGhee Architects. Their plan calls for the construction of two new court facilities on the sites of the General District Court and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court at a cost of $32.6 million. Under their plan, the Circuit Court would be relocated from the Renwick building to the space currently occupied by the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. That court, along with the General District Court would be relocated to the site currently occupied by the General District Court. Once vacated, the Renwick Building would then be renovated to house the Commonwealth Attorney's office. 

"Our solution took a little bit of a chance and determined that what might work better, from the perspective of scale, was to use two buildings," said Wiley Wilson president Tim Groover. "We would see rare occasions where there would need to be travel between the two buildings."

Planners described the two facilities as moderately sized "sister buildings" reminiscent of Virginia's earliest colonial courts. Each features vaulted roofs and gables along with windows designed to allow natural light into the courtrooms, offices and public areas. 

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the W.M. Jordan proposal is the vegetative roof planned for the General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations court facility. This feature, which would see grasses and other plants installed on the roof to help manage stormwater and offset the loss of green space. This roof would require periodic maintenance, an annual mowing for instance. A similar roof is already growing on a recently constructed courthouse in Lynchburg. 

The W.M. Jordan plan does not require the city to purchase land for construction, however it does require the demolition (and temporary relocation) of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and the General District Court. Construction is estimated to take 31 months, plus additional time to renovate Renwick. 

Rounding out the design-build presentations was the proposal from Donley's Inc. and HDR Inc., who presented three options for a new court facility located on either the site of Fredericksburg Fire Station 1, Executive Plaza or Sophia Street. 

Their plan for the firehouse site would see that structure demolished and moved to one of two locations in downtown Fredericksburg. In its place would be built a $34.2 million court facility which would house the Circuit Court and the General District Court. This plan does not require the demolition of the existing General District Court building or the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court building. Those structures would instead be refurbished to house the drug court and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Construction for this plan is estimated to take 44 months.

The Executive Plaza plan presented by the Donley's team  would see the city purchase two properties adjacent to the Executive Plaza, as well as the demolition of "Big Ugly". In its place would be a five story, $34.3 million court facility featuring panoramic views of the Rappahannock River, at least for the judges offices on the top floor. This plan also leaves a 20 foot alleyway around the building to allow for emergency access. Architect Anik Jhaveri also noted that this buffer could help protect the court facility against a terrorist car bomb detonation in the adjacent Sophia Street parking deck. Estimated construction time for this proposal comes in at 37 months. This plan would leave the city's existing court structures available for redevelopment or reuse. 

The final scheme presented by the Donley's team was for a site on Sophia Street, near Wolfe Street, facing the Rappahannock River. This site was not one of the five sites specified by City Council as possible locations for a new court facility. This proposal would see the city construct a five story, $34.6 million court facility housing the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, the District Court and the Circuit Court. The drug court would move to the current Juvenile and Domestic Relations courthouse. Estimated construction time is 36 months. 

What's Next?

With all five presentations made, city officials are now preparing to narrow the proposals down to a short list of two or three for a more detailed review. A tentative schedule released with the city's request for proposals has the city settling on its short list by March 22, and settling on a final plan by July. However, this plan is still very much in flux. Councilor Fred Howe, among others, want the city to hold a series of public hearings before the short list is settled upon. 

"The next step? Hearings." said Howe after the meeting. "The big issue now is to get the public involved, and if they don't get involved, well, then they can't complain to us after its done. Now is the time to make yourself heard."

City officials have agreed to hold at least one public hearing sometime before the city narrows down its list to two or three proposals, however this meeting has yet to be scheduled. It remains to be seen if additional public hearings will be scheduled. 

Howe wants the hearings to discuss not only the proposals, but also to discuss how the city would raise the money to pay for the projects, which range from $30 million to $40 million, Citing estimates from City Manager Beverly Cameron, Howe says such a project would require a five to nine cent property tax increase per $100 of taxable property on top of a proposed four cent increase in next years property taxes. 

Mayor Thomas Tomzak acknowledged that some city taxes would have to go up, but

"To be perfectly honest, it will require taxes to go up," said Tomzak after the meeting. "The problem is we have this need for the future. Do we do the responsible thing now or do we make it the responsibility of our grandchildren?"

Last night's public meeting will be rebroadcast on on March 19 and 20 at 6 p.m. According to City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, the public will be able to download each of the five court facility proposals from the city website as early as next week. 

Residents can also email comments about the proposals to a special email address set up specifically for the courts proposals at courtproposalcomments@fredericksburgva.gov. Comments received there will be distributed among city leaders for review.