The plans will be officially approved soon, but a new administrative building for the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office will begin construction in the coming days.
The project is under the purview of Steven Prather, director of facilities, design and construction for Columbia County. The building was initially planned and programmed in the 2017 – 2022 SPLOST.
The new building will be three floors, approximately 9,200 square feet per floor, or about 27,000 square feet in total. It will be located adjacent to the detention center at 2273 County Camp Rd. The cost was $6.14 million.
Prather said his department has worked with the sheriff’s office and other law enforcement agencies about what the specific needs are for the new building.
The main divisions moving to the new building will be investigations, interviews and clerical and administrative functions.
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Steve Morris, head of detention and court services for Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, said he is looking forward to the additional space.
“We’re out of space. We have our current records building that’s over 30 years old and virtually every office is doubled up,” Morris said. “We’re out of space in the detention center, too. This will free up room for additional offices. The building that is currently here for records and warrants will either be used for storage or possible razed for additional parking. That decision is yet to be made.”
Christopher Booker and Associates is the architectural firm on the project.
“We put together the bidding package about a month ago and we understand it all will be approved very soon,” Booker said. “We will have the records and office space on the first floor, administrative space on the second, and the sheriff and his staff on the third floor.”
The project will take approximately 486 days to complete.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
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