Frederick firm awarded contract to build new courthouse

May 05, 1999|By SCOTT BUTKI

The Maryland Board of Public Works has awarded to a Frederick company a $3.9 million contract to build the new Washington County District Court, Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced Wednesday.

The contract went to Waynesboro Construction Co. Inc., the lowest of six bidders.

Construction on the two-story building is expected to begin this spring and finish by October 2000, according to a news release from the governor's office.

The new 27,240-square-foot court building will be at West Antietam and South Potomac streets. It will have two courtrooms, judges' chambers, commissioners' offices, clerical space, state's attorney's offices and public defender offices, the release said. Plans call for a separate entrance for detainees.

The Board of Public Works voted in December 1997 to spend $390,000 to purchase from developer Vincent Groh the land where the courthouse will be built. The former four-story Brandt Cabinet warehouse was located there.

The construction project will create more than 100 jobs, Glendening said.

A joint venture of J.A. Ammon & Associates of Baltimore and Spillis Candela & Partners Inc., of Washington, D.C., designed the project.

"During the design process, the Department of General Services and the architectural/engineering team worked with local groups to provide a design that met the community's needs, added to the architectural fabric of downtown Hagerstown and contributed to the quality of the historic district," said Peta N. Richkus, department secretary.

The new District Court building will replace the one at 33 W. Washington St., which some court officials have said is too small and lacks the facilities of modern courthouses.

The Board of Public Works must approve all property sales to state agencies and institutions. The board consists of the governor, State Comptroller William Donald Schaefer and Treasurer Richard N. Dixon.

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