Renovations have been underway at the Burke County Courthouse in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ for about a month, but officials celebrated the milestone on Tuesday.
The work in the basement of the courthouse will turn what used to house the magistrate’s office and a maze of other offices into a new home for the district attorney’s office, said Clerk of Court Crystal Carpenter.
Crystal R. Carpenter, Burke County clerk of court, signs the wall at the event on Tuesday.
The district attorney’s office, currently on the main floor of the courthouse, is near the criminal clerk of court’s office. Once the office moves out, Carpenter said the clerk’s estates division will move into that space, and the estates division will become additional courtroom space.
So far, contractors have broken down walls and started the demolition process for the first phase of the project, said Gene Sigmon, a supervisor for Beam Construction.
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“We’re finally in the start of the build back,†Sigmon said. “Framing has started, HVAC, plumbing and electrical.â€
Humberto Mendez Gaspar, a Beam Construction employee, works in the basement at the Burke County Courthouse on Tuesday morning.
The renovations are the first major renovations to the building since 1976 when heating and air changes were made, Carpenter said.
“I was asked the question by the county manager, ‘What do you think it will take to make this building last eight to 10 years?’†Carpenter said. “I said, ‘First thing we have to do is we have to renovate that basement, we have to be able to use that space.’â€
She said she hopes this is the first of many renovations in the building.
Resident Superior Court Judge Robert C. Ervin was the first to sign a wall in the basement of the courthouse Tuesday as renovations ramp up. The Burke County Clerk of Court’s office hosted the wall-signing event in lieu of a groundbreaking ceremony.
“I want to thank the county commissioners for having the foresight, and the county manager, to see that this building works,†Carpenter said. “We don’t have to have a new building to do our work in. I love being downtown. I hope we’re always downtown, and we can just keep using this building and making it better and stronger for years to come.â€
Burke County Manager Brian Epley said the renovations cost $2.9 million, all of which is being funded through state and federal grants.
The Burke County Clerk of Court’s office staff hosted a wall signing ceremony Tuesday to celebrate the start of renovations at the Burke County Courthouse.
