Hurdles nearly clear, move-in date coming for downtown project

After a couple of years of unexpected problems and increased costs, a newly renovated building is almost ready for new tenants as the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office Downtown Annex.

The former Sears store at the corner of Third Street and Riverside Drive has passed a final inspection. The final step is a technology assessment, and those upgrades will need to be completed before more than 100 sheriff’s employees can move into the 83,000-square-foot building.

The building, also a former office supply site, had been vacant for about a decade after U.S. Bankruptcy Court moved out. The Bibb County Commission bought the facility for $500,000 in 2013. Shortly after Macon and Bibb County consolidated in January 2014, some unexpected problems cropped up.

A leaky roof that needed replacing was uncovered while the roof was being examined for a new heating and air conditioning system. Asbestos in the building had to be removed. The elevator needed refurbishing.

Another major renovation was putting in a new electrical system.

Now, “The building with the exception of the shell and floor is pretty brand new,” said Clay Murphey, who oversees special purpose sales tax projects for Macon-Bibb.

The former commission budgeted $2.7 million for the renovation project, but two years later, in October 2015, the Macon-Bibb County Commission added another $1.2 million to finish the work. But with the building now being up to code and the vast majority of the renovations completed, the former store is closer than ever to coming back to life.

Once the technology assessment is completed, then Macon-Bibb officials will know how much those improvements will cost and have a better time frame for when the move-in can begin, county officials said.

Even though the price tag is coming in higher than original estimates, the $4.3 million project will cost about half as much as a new building, Murphey said. The annex is another piece in a revitalized downtown Macon, he said.

“It’s not only great for downtown but also for the morale of (sheriff’s office) employees.”

Sheriff’s annex ‘next big domino’

The property will allow various sheriff’s units — from violent crimes to the drug and gang units and civil process — to be located on one site.

The basement is where some central records are stored, while the next two floors will be used by the sheriff’s office and the county coroner. Another section of the former store is now being used by the state probation office.

Along with more space for employees, having units that are able to work together in one place is a major step forward, Sheriff David Davis said.

Transitioning the 130 to 150 employees into the facility will probably be phased in over six to eight months.

“Now they’ll be under one roof where they can compare notes, talk about cases, compare suspects,” Davis said. “It’ll really bring some efficiencies to investigative efforts.”

The annex is the latest development in the reshuffling of city and county offices during consolidation.

Across the street from the annex is the renovated building for the Bibb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Other departments, including Human Resources, Procurement and Planning and Zoning, have or will likely soon move out of the Willie C. Hill Government Center Annex as Macon-Bibb seeks to redevelop the Cherry Street property.

“Moving into the sheriff’s office annex is the next big domino of a lot of other moves since consolidation,” Macon-Bibb spokesman Chris Floore said.

Assessment ramps up construction

Some of the sheriff’s annex renovations were performed by Macon-Bibb County employees, but later general contractor Warren Associates Inc. became involved.

“It was more than we could handle in-house,” Mayor Robert Reichert said.

The early estimated costs to renovate the building may not have been realistic, Davis said.

“A real clear picture of the actual cost and scope of work was not brought into view until Warren Associates came on board and did a comprehensive analysis,” he said.

That assessment involved detailing building code issues. Also, some of the earlier construction work had been completed out of sequence, which presented another test, said Warren Selby Jr., the company’s president and CEO.

“I think the biggest challenge was that initial analysis taking the time going through the building in a methodical fashion and finding out what the issues were,” he said. “Then a second one was pulling all the pieces of material together that could be used because some were salvageable.”

Once the review was completed, then the rest of the construction was easier to finish. The building is structurally sound and should serve Macon-Bibb County for many years, Selby said.

“However it did get sidetracked, it’s now been put back on the rail,” he said. “Without Macon-Bibb County, we couldn’t have accomplished the job.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2016 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Hurdles nearly clear, move-in date coming for downtown project."