24-04-2025
Madison County Commission reviews feasibility study for new courthouse
MADISON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The Madison County Commission held a special called work session Wednesday to discuss a feasibility study into the construction of a new courthouse.
The study, done by the Matheny Goldmon Architecture firm, revealed four options that the commission could mull over when considering the construction of a new courthouse. The report was broken into nine sections.
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It factored in population growth projections for the area until 2075, surveyed the departments that use the courthouse to understand their needs and considered the history of the county courthouse on the square.
'There was a lot of good information, especially the way they went about collecting all of the information and the data and putting it together,' Madison County Commission chairman Mac McCutcheon said. 'We were looking at long term, which we know we aren't just trying to fix something for the next 10 years. We are looking 50, 60 years out, which is what we should be doing.'
McCutcheon said growth in the area and the financial situation that the county is in make now a good time to start talking about the project. The current courthouse opened in 1967.
'The need is there for sure,' McCutcheon said. 'As we look at it, the time is right for us to start this discussion.''It's not really efficient to build courthouses, but it's time,' District 3 commissioner Craig Hill said.
Of the four options presented to the commission in the study, three of those would keep the criminal justice system and county administrative offices together. However, each of those options would have the courthouse in a different location.
One of the options is to rebuild the new courthouse where the current courthouse stands, which would cost the county roughly $173.6 million. It would take around five years and two months to complete. During construction, the courts would move to another building to avoid delays in criminal proceedings.
The second option presented to the commission would separate the criminal justice system and county administrative offices into two buildings. This option would cost the county roughly $153.2 million and would take six years to complete. It would also reduce construction on the square in downtown Huntsville to 28 months.
Another option being considered would move the criminal justice system and county administrative offices together to 370 Fountain Circle, and that option would cost roughly $141.7 million.
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The fourth option would be to find another piece of property within a quarter mile of the current courthouse and build a new one. The cost of this was estimated at $150.8 million, but a representative from Matheny Goldmon said it seems unlikely to find the right requirements for this option.
'The county is in very good shape,' McCutcheon said. 'This is a project that is possible. It's not just something that we are thinking well if we have the money. The money's available for us to move forward with a big project like this.'
McCutcheon said the commission is factoring in the impacts that construction on the square would have when they are considering the options.
'The downtown area has changed over the last several years and we have people living downtown in apartment complexes, we've got businesses here on the square, a lot of pedestrian traffic,' McCutcheon said. 'We are looking at all of those things, what will be a good fit for our residents and this area moving forward.'
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McCutcheon did not commit to which option he supports at this point but believes that the commission needs to do what's best for the county.
'I'm still processing and looking at all the information we have and that's why this information we received today and this report is so vital to me and all of our commissioners,' McCutcheon said. 'We need to take an objective look at this. This is not just something that one person wants personally, this is about what's best for the county.'
The next step in the process would be to hire an owner's representative, which McCutcheon said the county is ready to do. The commission would then begin processing and discussing the information and work on the financing.
After getting the owner's representative hired, the Commission would begin the bidding process for the project.
McCutcheon said the hope is to have a design and be ready to move forward with a plan of action by 2027.
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