Bibb County Commissioners must enhance and expand the existing courthouse facilities. Our leaders are currently debating options for this expansion, including one option to relocate the courts and administrative offices to a newly constructed "justice center" adjacent to the Law Enforcement Center near Plum St. In this instance, other County offices would occupy the existing structure. Historic Macon Foundation believes that the existing courts should be preserved in the courthouse and an addition or annex should be added in the immediate vicinity to accomodate the need for expanded space. The County has retained the services of Brittain Thompson Bray Brown and Cooper Carry to study four sites: 1) the existing courthouse, 2) The existing courthouse along with the purchase of the adjacent BB&T building, 3) The site near the jail, and 4) The Macon Telegraph building and property. The architects will perform the following evaluations on each of these sites: 1) Perform Building Condition and Feasibility Study, 2) Space Needs Assessment, and 3) Cost Analysis of each of the four sites. Downtown can ill-afford the relocation of these jobs and visitors and the relocation most likely will not leverage additional private development. Scroll to the bottom to read our position on this preservation issue in full. Our position is informed by the following facts, research and case studies:
Economic impact- The economic impact of moving the courthouse functions toward the Law Enforcement Center will be swift and severe. Tenants will either leave historic buildings to occupy new space or go out of business entirely, leaving us with more vacancies and fewer jobs.
Cost- Estimates to construct a new consolidated law enforcement center place the cost will probably be around $80 million. The cost of purchasing and rehabilitating adjacent space (e.g the BB&T building) or constructing an annex on nearby County-owned property (e.g. beside the Grand Opera House) would likely cost much less. We need an efficient solution to address these challenges, and we expect the architects' suggestions to show than an annex will be the most efficient solution.
Urban Renewal failed- The idea that a large new civic structure adjacent to the Law Enforcement Center will leverage private investment is fatally flawed. This concept in revitalization was dubbed "Urban Renewal" and was very popular in the 1960s. After much reasearch, the strategy has proven to be a total failure. A good example of failed urban renewal can be found at the Coliseum. The City of Macon purchased the blighted (but tax paying) houses in the area where the Coliseum now sits and built a large tax-exempt civic building. To this day, the development has not even reached the level of tax that was being paid on the delapidated neighborhood that existed there previously. The Coliseum has not leveraged any new property taxes, although it has been a great success attracting conventions and events. Even the new hotel on the site required massive public subsidies. Urban Renewal will not bring economic development to downtown.
Rehabilitation and addition is an option- The State of Georgia has studied many courthouse rehabilitations and has found "that though [communities] could build a larger, new courthouse and abandon the historic one, the new structure might never equal the character and stature or realize the quality of materials and detail of the historic building. It would be impossible to aff ord a comparably designed and detailed building today. As an alternative to a replacement courthouse, communities have opted to construct additions, adapt an existing underutilized downtown building or build an annex on an adjacent or nearby tract to their historic courthouse." (Preserving Georgia's Courthouses, March 2005)
City Planning Best Practice- It is an established best practice in City Planning that the first preference is to keep Courthouse functions in the historic building. If expansion is necessary, an annex or addition is the best method to provide additional space. An annex within a four block radius "retains county functions downtown while establishing a public use zone within a central business district. Such clustering of public uses enhances both government and downtown." (The Georgia Courthouse Manual, 1992)
Historic Preservation- The State of Georgia has more historic courthouses than any other state except Texas. The Bibb County Courthouse is a National Register-listed historic building and should be preserved with its intended use in place. Many users will attest that the historic courts themselves add to the gravity of the law that is made and decided there. No new space can rival our historic courts.
HISTORIC MACON FOUNDATION
POSITION STATEMENT
RE: PROPOSAL TO RELOCATE THE BIBB COUNTY COURTHOUSE
FROM MULBERRY STREET TO OGLETHORPE STREET
WHEREAS the mission of Historic Macon Foundation is to preserve historic buildings and to maintain the integrity of historic districts and neighborhoods, particularly those that are threatened by encroaching development, abandonment, and/or the need for rehabilitation, and
WHEREAS the Bibb County Courthouse was designed by our urban founders as an anchor for the community at-large, serving as the county seat and focal point of civic life, and
WHEREAS the Bibb County Courthouse is the central structure at the core of Downtown Macon, around which other governmental, judicial, banking, and related professional services revolve, and
WHEREAS the Bibb County Courthouse serves as a catalyst for economic vitality in Downtown Macon, including leased professional space in adjacent office towers, retailers, attractions and restaurants, all of which are stable but fragile, and would be adversely affected by the removal of such an anchor of civic life, and
WHEREAS adjacent businesses generate property and sales tax revenues that would be reduced or eliminated with the removal of the Courthouse from its current location, and
WHEREAS the dome of the Bibb County Courthouse is a symbol of justice over the daily lives of the county's citizens that has served as a visual anchor of the County since its founding and moving it would yield result in urban misalignment, and
WHEREAS the architectural significance of the Courthouse is recognized as Neo-Classical Revival and a building of such stature in terms of style, craftsmanship and materials would be difficult if not impossible to replicate, and
WHEREAS it is recognized that concerns about security, safe transport of prisoners, and energy efficiency are legitimate problems that need to be evaluated and addressed, and
WHEREAS it is recognized that the existing courthouse may have insufficient space for both courtrooms and administrative office spaces, and
WHEREAS the tax payers of Bibb County are due transparent, fiscal responsibility on the part of elected officials regarding stewardship of the Courthouse,
THEREFORE Historic Macon Foundation respectfully requests of the Bibb County Board of Commissioners that the following five (5) professional studies be conducted with the goal of gathering data for careful, comparative analysis:
Building Condition and Feasibility Study: a) to describe and enumerate the specific needs of the current Courthouse in terms of security, energy efficiency, and general maintenance, taking into consideration potential use of adjacent buildings and spaces, such as the BB&T Tower and the parking lot on the corner of Mulberry and New Street, and b) to describe scope and design of proposed new building as judicial complex adjoining the current jail
Space Needs Assessment: to outline valid space needs for both courtroom use and administrative offices, based on realistic employment projections for staffing for the next 15 and 30 years, considering that both the County and City have flat or negative population growth
Economic Impact Studies a) to assess the current economic impact that the Courthouse has on nearby businesses in Downtown Macon, and b) to estimate the adverse impact that moving the Courthouse would have on businesses and the property tax base they represent in Downtown Macon, particularly on Mulberry Street
Cost Analysis: to provide a comparative cost analysis outlining: a) the cost of rehabilitation of the current courthouse, including costs for moving some of the administrative offices to a separate location and significantly enhancing security, and b) the cost of construction of a new building adjacent to the LEC on Oglethorpe Street, including costs of land acquisition
Case Studies of Similar Situations: to research and review case studies in other cities, including Perry GA and Gwinnett County GA, that have moved courthouses to outlying areas and case studies in other cities of similar size, such as Greenville SC, that have revitalized areas around the original site of downtown courthouses to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of moving versus renovating and expanding in existing locations. Other case studies of successful revitalization around restored courthouses in existing settings can be found in Riverside County CA and Geneva NE, and reference to these studies would be instructive.
Historic Macon Foundation strongly encourages the Bibb County Board of Commissioners to choose 1) the most fiscally responsible option, that 2) provides the least negative impact on the economic vitality of the City and County, and that 3) preserves the original urban design of Bibb County. Priority should be given to keeping the Courthouse in its current location with its physical integrity intact while addressing safety and general maintenance concerns.
Respectfully submitted, this 20th Day of March, 2009
Historic Preservation 
