Courthouse renovations could cost another $1 million
HILLSDALE — Renovations to Hillsdale County’s historic courthouse in downtown Hillsdale could cost the county upwards of another $1 million and take an additional year to complete.
Renaissance Historic Exteriors provided an update on their work thus far Tuesday, June 27, to the Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners and said the condition of the sandstone and brick on the exterior of the courthouse is worse than they originally assessed.
The failing stone and masonry work is a critical safety concern with commissioners worried that falling stone in the future could kill someone.
More: Hillsdale County commissioners debate spending $4.3M in more courthouse repairs
“We’re very aware of the seriousness of the situation,” Commissioner Doug Ingles said Thursday.
Ingles said the problem lies in the ties holding the sandstone masonry to the building. Those ties have deteriorated over time.
“They don’t know what they’re going to find as they go down the building,” Ingles said. “It’s been 125 years of that building sitting there in the elements.”
Ingles said the additional work could cost between $500,000 and $1 million, but Renaissance Historic Exteriors does not have a definite number as of yet because they have not removed all the sandstones to determine what all is needed.
The commissioners are working to figure out a way to pay for the additional costs, Ingles said.
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The courthouse has been under renovations for a few years now, modernizing office spaces, replacing aging heating and cooling systems and shifting work spaces to potentially make way for the 2B District Court to relocate from the courthouse annex across the street.
Renaissance Historic Exteriors is also working on the courthouse’s roof and clock tower.
Renovations to the historic courthouse thus far exceed $10 million, and most of that funding came from the $8.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds the county received from the federal government in COVID-19 funding.
— Contact Reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Courthouse renovations could cost another $1 million
