WDC Group Principal Architect Chris Widener shows a rendering for a new county administration building to be located on the southwestern corner of Main and North Streets during a presentation to county officials Thursday.
LIMA — The vision for a new county administration building in downtown Lima is coming into focus after floor designs and an exterior rendering were shown to Allen County officials during a meeting Thursday with the architectural group in charge of the project.
Chris Widener, principal architect of the Springfield-based WDC Group, discussed the rendering and floor plans with county commissioners and representatives from the recorder’s office, the Veterans Service Commission, the auditor’s office, the tax map office, the domestic relations court and the buildings and grounds department, giving those in attendance a glimpse of what they can expect from the three-story, 30,000-square-foot facility, which is expected to house all of those agencies once completed, which is expected to be by fall 2026.
The building would sit where the former Hofeller, Hiatt and Clark clothing store stood, along with a second building to the south.
According to Widener, Thursday’s meeting is the culmination of six months of working with the commissioners as well as personnel from each department.
“The commissioners have gone through their due diligence, and we’ve helped them with knowing that we have a site ready for this project,” he said. “So the next steps will be to finalize those plans with each office to make sure that the customer service attributes and the spaces they need for their staff to do their work are accommodated.”
Currently, the estimated cost for building the structure is $16.9 million, which does not include the purchase of the properties as well as site preparation and furnishings for the completed building. To address that third expense, Widener presented each department with photos of their current office space, requesting that each department highlight furnishings that could be relocated to the new offices while also creating a list of any new furnishings they may need.
The departments were asked to provide that information by Feb. 2. The hope is that being able to use some of the materials already in these offices will help offset additional costs for furnishings that would add to the total project cost.
“Every office has unique pieces of machinery for their operation, and that needs to come over,” Allen County Commissioner Cory Noonan said. “Let’s identify what all can be moved over, and let’s see where the voids are. Do we need conference tables here? Desks there? Our goal is to be able to use as much furniture from the courthouses and the offices (as possible).”
Allen County Domestic Relations Judge Matt Staley is looking forward to the completion of this project. The Domestic Relations Court is expected to go on the third floor of the new building while the courthouse is later renovated to house all county courts. Once that renovation is complete, that court will move back to the courthouse, and the commissioners’ office and the coroner’s office will take that space in the new administration building, which will also have security measures at the entryway to ensure the safety of employees and visitors.
“The pattern and flow of people and the ability to conduct our operations will be better in that regard, and they will be more secure than they are right now, as well,” Staley said.
