A new administration building could be in the pipe for York County, a move that would consolidate offices spread out across Yorktown into one centralized location.
The current building, located on Ballard Street in Yorktown, has been in service since it began as a school house in the 1930s. It transitioned through several renovations to its current form, and it is not believed to be able to withstand another major renovation.
The need to replace the building is on the horizon, according to budget planning documents from the county that have identified the fiscal year running from July 2020 to June 2021 as a time when they would like to see the estimated $13.4 million project come to fruition.
York County Administrator James McReynolds said the current thought for the new building is it would be three stories and built on piers above the parking lot that exists behind the current administration building. That would enable the county to use land it already owns instead of having to go out and purchase more.
“It’s very speculative at this point,” McReynolds said of the potential design and location, noting the potential three-story pier idea is based on “very broad concepts.”
The current administration building holds numerous offices, including the county administration, the planning division, the county attorney’s office, the office of economic development and several others. Many other key functions of the county government — including the budget and financial planning office — are in the nearby financial building, which is located next door to the York-Poquoson Courthouse.
Staff in the finance building would move to the new building, clearing space for the finance building to be renovated to be used as courtroom space. That building was used as courtroom space prior to the opening of the courthouse in 1997, and now that there’s need for additional courtroom space, the finance building would be used for that end, McReynolds said.
The preliminary thinking around the project is the current administration building would be demolished, clearing the way for a courtyard. Because the current building is built on a slope that angles down to the parking lot, that lot and the first floor of the new building would be below the hill while the upper two floors would rise above Ballard Street. The building would be more than 17,000 square feet.
The preliminary design outlined by McReynolds has not yet undergone site planning or engineering, which will determine whether what he has suggested is feasible. Assuming the York County Board of Supervisors votes to approve the project—something that won’t happen until the first half of 2020—that work would then have to be done.
The supervisors got their first look at the potential project at their April 11 retreat.
“The [current building] creaks every time you walk in it,” Supervisor Don Wiggins said.
Little else was said by the supervisors about the project, though Supervisor Walt Zaremba noted his house creaks too but “I’m not thinking about tearing it down.”
Computer support staff and equipment currently located in the Yorktown Post Office would also move to the new administration building. The post office building is owned by the county and is rented to the U.S. Postal Service.
Potential layouts and other architectural features have yet to be discussed.
WYDaily’s Brittany Voll contributed to the reporting in this story.
