Council Narrows Court Proposals to Five

And then there were five. 

Fredericksburg's City Council voted 4-3 to locate a proposed new court facility on Princess Anne Street. Voting in the majority were Mayor Thomas Tomzak, Vice-Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, At-Large Councilor Kerry Devine and Ward 2 Councilor George Solley. Voting against siting the building on Princess Anne Street was Ward 1 Councilor Brad Ellis, Ward 3 Councilor Fred Howe and Ward 4 Councilor Bea Paolucci. 

The vote occurred at a work session prior to tonight's regularly scheduled City Council meeting. Discussion, which happened in open session, centered on location and design compatability with regards to scale, height and bulk of the proposed schemes 

The decision to choose Princess Anne leaves five proposed schemes on the table. The decision eliminated two options which would have demolished Executive Plaza and another option on Sophia Street. 

Still on the table are two proposals by FirstChoice Public Private Partnership, labeled Scheme Two and Scheme Five.

FirstChoice's Scheme Two would see a new three story, 106,000 square foot, $35 million courts building constructed next to City Hall on the site of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court at Princess Anne and Charlotte streets. This plan would require the juvenile and domestic relations court temporarily relocate to Executive Plaza during construction. Some aspects of this design seemed to mirror the Renwick building more than the others, with a colonnaded tower rising from the structure facing Princess Anne Street. This building would not house all of the court facilities, calling for the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court to be relocated to current General District Court building, while the General District Court would be housed in the new building. Scheme Two is estimated to take 30 months to complete. 

FirstChoice's other proposal, Scheme Five, would see the new court facility located on the site of Fredericksburg Fire Station 1, and would require the construction of a new fire house on property near the Freelance-Star building on William Street. Because of this, Scheme Five would cost about $41 million and take about 36 months to complete.

Also still in contention is Clancy and They's proposal situated on the site of Fire Station 1. The Clancy and Theys proposal sets out a 33 month construction schedule; nine months constructing a new fire house, 24 months of court construction. The cost is estimated to run $30.8 million, not including the costs to construct a new fire house, which was casually estimated to cost between $5 million and $6 million. 

W.M. Jordan Cos. also still has a horse in the race. 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. 

Rounding out the designs still in consideration is a single proposal from Donley's and HDR Inc. which would see the court facility built on the site of Fire Station 1. 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.