Work has begun on a $170,000 project to repair the porch of the 1823 Princess Anne County Courthouse, and a study will soon follow to help city officials decide what to do with the rest of the building.
The porch deteriorated from water damage and had its weakened columns removed last month. Those columns will be replaced in the repair project, which should be finished by October, according to city staff.
Also in the coming weeks, work will begin on a $50,000 study of the building to learn more about its various designs and uses over the past two centuries. That research is expected to take six months; it will involve an academic historian studying the courthouse and old documents.
“A historic structures report will help us all understand what the building was, how it was built, and what it looked like at various period in history,” said Tom Nicholas, the city’s facility engineer.
City management approved funding for the study in March. Staff had been seeking the report for about 20 years, according to Mark Reed, the city’s Historic Preservation Planner.
The two-story building has been an office building for city employees since the 1990s and has undergone multiple renovations, including a porch replacement in 2001 and at least four exterior and interior renovations.
With the exception of its front porch, the building is structurally sound, Nicholas said
“It’s in great shape. There’s no problems with the stability of the building at all,” he said.
There are other problems, however. The first floor had been office space for city attorney employees but was evacuated in October because of a mold infestation. Replacement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is underway, as is mold removal. The second floor is still used as the billing training center for Public Utilities because tests showed no health concerns there.
When the upcoming study is completed, the city’s Historic Preservation Board and Historic Preservation Commission will decide which time period or style would best fit the building’s future use, which has yet to be determined, Nicholas said. Options range from keeping the building virtually as is to turning it into a visitor’s center or a museum.
“Looking to the future, I don’t think it’s going to be used for city office forever,” Reed said. “ But the historic structures report will help us understand what’s there, and perhaps that will help in making those decisions.”
The ultimate decision must receive City Council approval and enter the city’s capital improvement plan, which wouldn’t happen until July of 2018, according to Nicholas.
