Schedule for work on Administration Building, Courthouse released

The Alleghany County Board of Commissioners approved a construction timeline for renovations on the Alleghany County Courthouse and on a new county office complex.

The new offices, dubbed the Administration Building, will be located in the former Cash and Carry grocery store building on Main Street in Sparta. The county acquired in a property swap with Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation. It last housed the Alleghany Campus of Wilkes Community College.

According to the timeline, work on the two buildings will take a little more than two years and will consist of three phases. “This is an absolute best case scenario,” County Manager Don Adams told the board. Phase one is set to begin this week and will end on Nov. 15. A document presented to the board by Adams said, “Phase 1 will consist of replacing the roof and repairing the basement walls of the Administration Building. This is proposed to be constructed separate from the main renovations in order to be able to start the main renovations during the winter months.”

Adams told the board that the county’s general fund would need to absorb the construction costs, estimated at up to $400,000, until the county is able to get loan approval from the Local Government Commission. “Once the Local Government Commission approves the loan, the General Fund will be reimbursed,” the document said.

Also approved Monday was a contract for $101,000 with county architects Hemphill and Associates for work on the Administration Building. That represents about 9 percent of the Administration Building’s estimated cost, Adams said. Additional architectural fees will be charged for work on the courthouse, Adams noted when asked by Commissioner Warren Taylor.

Adams also warned the commissioners that additional construction costs may be incurred since the county’s estimates are already more than six months old.

The document further stipulates that bid specifications for the roof and basement work on the Administration Building will be released the week of Aug. 16, with bids opened on Sept. 15. The commission would then award bids on Sept. 20 and work would be requested to be complete by Nov. 15.

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back