CLEARFIELD – On Tuesday KTH Architects unveiled preliminary plans for the county officers at the former Gray Battery building.
The county purchased the building for $183,000 with the intent to move offices out of the Multi Service Center and closer to the courthouse.
Jerry Bankovich gave the presentation on behalf of KTH. According to Bankovich, a study was done in 2000. This study found the Multi Service Center to be on of the worse county buildings. At the time of the study it was estimated that it would cost $2 million over a 10 year period for maintenance and upkeep for the building. To build a comparable structure, it would cost the county $5 million.
“Ultimately, the Gray building was the best option,’ said Bankovich. “The building itself is basically a shell.”
He continued, stating that the building is structurally sounds.
Bankovich said that the first floor of the Gray building would house the Clearfield County Commissioners’ offices, County Elections Office, Veteran’s Affairs office and Controller’s office, the Clearfield County Planning Department. The second floor would house Clearfield County Children, Youth and Family Services.
“A lot of thought went into who would go where,” said Commissioner Chairman John Sobel.
The commissioners said that by moving some offices out of the Courthouse Annex, it would give other offices, such as the District Attorney’s, Public Defender’s and Victim-Witness Officers room to expand, something they currently don’t have while being on the second floor.
Offices at the Multi-Service Center not included in the move to the Gray buidling are the Clearfield County Conservation District, Magisterial District Judge Richard Ireland’s and the Penn State Cooperative Extension. The commissioners said there is no hard date to get them out of the building, but that they are working on finding those offices a home that suit their needs.
The façade, which is currently a large window, will be redone in brick and block and redesigned to match the downtown flavor. Windows will also be placed in the building where space and building code allows.
Bankovich said the building will incorporate green building aspects as well, such as lighting, low flow fixtures and recycled contents. The commissioners and Bankovich noted that a handicap parking space will be requested from Clearfield Borough for in front of the building and that there will also be a spot for veteran’s parking.
Commissioner Mark McCracken pointed to the $5 million mark noted in 2000 to build a similar structure. He said they hope to get the total project finished at under $2 million.
The commissioners also noted that parking has been an issue that’s been brought to their attention. They said they met with Clearfield Borough officials, law enforcement, downtown business owners and others to discuss parking concerns.
“The group is trying hard to solve the problem,” said Sobel.
McCracken noted that there are currently 50 spaces downtown that are not being utilized for public parking. He said these spaces are within a block of the Gray building. He said they hope to firm those up those spots. Sobel said that they hope whatever the county gets for parking can be made available to the public on nights and weekends.
Sobel said they will try to make as much information possible available to the public. The commissioners asked the public to contact them with suggestions or comments.