The Greene County Board of Commissioners approved a plan on March 11 to designate space allocation and rehabilitate the historic courthouse in downtown Greensboro, following several meetings of the Courthouse Vacant Space Allocation Committee.
According to the resolution detailing the plan, the third-floor space of the courthouse’s 1998 addition will house the district attorney’s office, excluding the conference room that will be used as a grand jury room, jury deliberation room, and multipurpose room.
The second-floor space historically used as the district attorney’s office will house the public defender’s office, excluding the superior court judge’s office, which will remain on the second floor. The second floor will also include a jury deliberation room that can be used as a multipurpose room when not occupied by jury members.
The space on the first floor of the historic section vacated by moving the public defender’s office will be used by the Clerk of Superior Court as a multipurpose room. The current conference room will also be converted to the clerk’s office.
The Veterans Administration office will be relocated to the county annex adjacent to the driver’s services office. The law library will move into the two offices vacated by that relocation, and the current library space will be converted to office space for the probate judge.
The BOC plans to renovate almost all spaces in the courthouse, allowing for the space allocation.
A timeline for starting the project has yet to be announced. Still, District 1 Commissioner Angela Deering, who steered the committee with District 3 Commissioner Dee Lindsey, said the public will be updated on the project’s progress.
According to the resolution, the project will be divided into several phases. The first phase will focus primarily on rehabilitating the pertinent third-floor spaces. This work would include renovating the district attorney’s office, replacing flooring, and improving judges’ chambers.
Following the completion of that work, the district attorney’s office will be relocated. During phase one, office space at the county annex will be improved, and the Veterans Administration office will be relocated.
Phase two will rehabilitate the second floor’s office spaces, grand jury room, restrooms, and flooring. Upon completion, the public defender’s office will be moved to the second floor.
Phase three focuses on the first floor, excluding the historic portion.
This phase will rehabilitate office and law library space and replace flooring in the atrium and 1998 addition. Upon completion, the law library will be moved into the new space, leaving the vacated space open for the Clerk of Superior Court’s multipurpose conference room.
Phase four will focus on the historic portion of the first floor, renovating the spaces currently used as a conference room and the law library to prepare the offices for the probate judge and Clerk of Superior Court.
During the meeting, several residents praised the project and thanked the BOC for preserving the courthouse instead of moving legal functions to the judicial center proposed last summer.
“I’m really here to say thank you to each one of you commissioners for listening to the people of Greene County because I’ve never seen so much support for a project from north of I-20 and south of I-20,” Frances Strickland told the board. “I really appreciate the people who have adopted Greensboro as their hometown, and they want to see it preserved. Thank you to Angela (Deering) and Dee (Lindsey); there’s no telling how many hours, blood, sweat, and tears y’all have spent, and the committee members for the hard work they’ve done. (Committee member and retired Chief Magistrate/Probate Judge LaVerne Ogletree) is a valuable resource; she knows every nook and cranny, every secret of that courthouse.
“We definitely have a treasure — the oldest functioning Greek Revival courthouse in the state of Georgia [at] 176 years old,” Strickland emphasized. “We have a treasure; it’s up to us to keep it and keep it maintained, so that other generations will benefit from it.”