The Cole County Commission hopes buying the building and parking lot at 209 Adams St. will create more space for county government officials in downtown Jefferson City.
According to documents provided after a closed meeting of the commission, Toni Weldon of Weldon Preservation LLC accepted an offer from the County Commission to buy the property for $465,000.
Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman said the commission is awaiting a closing date for the deal.
"We have been trying to determine where we'd put a fifth courtroom when the county is supposed to have a second associate circuit judge start hearing cases in 2021," Bushman said. "The idea of tearing down the old jail behind the county courthouse and putting up a new structure was going to cost millions of dollars. This is a much more fiscally responsible alternative."
Cole County Judge Jon Beetem told the commission the new building could house the two associate circuit courts as well as the public defenders' offices, Bushman said.
The public defenders are currently housed in the Carnegie Building, across the street from 209 Adams St. Officials in that office have told commissioners they need more space because their client load has increased.
The 209 Adams St. facility has been vacant since October, when Missouri River Regional Library staff moved out of its offices because of mold in the building. The library leased the facility and parking lot from Weldon Preservation, using it as an annex to the main library, which is just across the street.
"The first thing we will do is go in and gut the building and take care of the mold and water leaks," Bushman said. "We wanted to stay in the downtown footprint, and this allows us to do that. Plus, we have adequate parking there. It is still close to everything that we have some options, whether that be moving the courts there or other county offices."
Meanwhile, Bushman said, the commission is still trying to determine what to do with the old county health department building on Industrial Drive. The facility has been closed since October, when the county opened the new health department on West Truman Boulevard.
"Leaving it sit vacant is not good," Bushman said of the former health department building. "We continue to check on the building and grounds, and we have considered some possibilities for how the county could still use the facility, but we haven't come up with anything. I think selling it would be the best thing for the county."