Montrose, COLO.— The Montrose Board of County Commissioners received a stamp of approval earlier this week on a Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grant to support design documents for the renovation of the historic county courthouse. The courthouse, located at 320 South 1st Street, was completed in 1923 utilizing almost entirely local labor and materials—including sandstone mined just five miles outside of Montrose. Chairman of the Board Keith Caddy noted the building’s historical significance as he stated, “This is a tremendous building that has been a landmark and source of pride for the Montrose community for nearly a century. A full renovation would not only preserve the building, but also provide an efficient means for the county to continue to provide core services in the same downtown location.”
The upper two floors of the four-story building have been vacant since completion of the Justice Center in 1998. At present, only a portion of the building is used to house the Assessor’s offices, Treasurer & Public Trustee’s offices, Clerk & Recorder’s office, and Geographic Information System offices. The county is exploring plans to temporarily relocate those offices, as well as the adjacent administration and legal staff, to complete the remodel. The grant dollars awarded by DOLA will be used to help fund design documents for courthouse renovations.
The successful grant application was written by Deputy County Manager Jon Waschbusch and was awarded the maximum amount of $200,000. “There are a lot of positive aspects to this project.” said Waschbusch. “Grant funding is highly competitive and receiving the full award says a lot about the quality of this opportunity in terms of preservation, efficiency of operations and investment in downtown. DOLA has been a phenomenal partner to the county over the years and we’re once again grateful to have this level of support for a Montrose project.”
Logistical planning for temporary office space will remain ongoing. The county plans to issue a request for proposals for design work in early 2019. The county will continue to keep the public informed regarding progress on this project.
