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Historic Arizona Courthouse Renovation Underway

Florence Arizona (January 13, 2012) –  With the interior demolition complete and the architectural design finalized, the next and biggest step of the renovation of the 1891 historic Arizona Pinal County Courthouse is now underway – interior construction.

“Considering the age of this building, it will be a very sensitive project. It is not typical of our past projects where we build from the ground up. You have to plan this properly, it means taking extra care during demolition and construction but this is an exciting time,” said construction project manager Archie Carreon of Concord General Contracting in Mesa.

The renovation comes at a time when Pinal County will need space for five supervisors, their offices and meeting chambers. Arizona State Statute 11-211(A) requires counties to have five elected supervisors once they have a population of 175,000 or more, as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Pinal County’s 2010 Census population was 375,770.

 

Pinal County Courthouse

 

In addition to the interior construction, crews will also be improving the utilities, paving new parking spaces around the building and installing new curbs and gutters.

Looking over the blueprints of the renovation, Carreon said that crews will be busy throughout most of the year getting the building ready for its 2013 debut. Work on the courthouse is scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2012.

“There are three aspects of this courthouse that will make an immediate impression on people,” Carreon said. “One is the grand staircase at the entrance of the building. People will notice it and the high ceilings when they walk into the courthouse. Next is the complete rebuilding of the ceremonial courtroom on the second floor. Finally, the new Board of Supervisors hearing room will be much larger. The seating capacity will grow to 126 people, nearly double what the current hearing room will hold.”

Carreon added that some of the original interior highlights will be kept for all to admire. “For example, in the Board of Supervisors hearing room, we will have all the original brick exposed. Windows from the old jail cells, complete with bars, will be on display as well.”

There will also be the modern necessities included to make this 19th century building fit into the 21st Century.

“All the modern conveniences will be included in the renovation,” Carreon said. “Full insulation, up-to-date air conditioning, fire suppression and alarm equipment, new wiring, contemporary lighting and we will be ADA compliant with a new elevator.”

On January 12, 2011, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors approved the renovation of the courthouse. The renovation replaces an earlier plan to build a 10,000 square foot building to house the county’s Human Resources Department as well as remodeling the Administration Building A to accommodate two more supervisors and staff.

The anticipated cost of the earlier new building project was $3.2 million. The courthouse decision by the Supervisors requires a one-time infusion of $2.8 million dollars to complete its renovation, a substantial savings to taxpayers.

The Arizona Historical Advisory Commission has designated the 1891 Courthouse Renovation Project an official Centennial Legacy Project. To keep up on the progress of the 1891 Courthouse renovation, log on to (shortened URL): http://goo.gl/S5Rta.

This SedonaEye.com and Sedona Times Publishing article written and submitted by Joe Pyritz and Heather Murphy.

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1 Comment

  1. Joe and Heather Update says:

    Pinal County’s Communications & Public Affairs office is also planning a periodic update on areas and events of historical significance in and around Pinal County. The attached installment includes history of the Oracle area.* We hope you will enjoy receiving these updates in addition to your steady stream of Pinal County news and information.

    Best regards,
    Heather Murphy
    Joe Pyritz

    * This is not our original work as we are not historians (some of us have a hard enough time remembering where we left our ‘to do’ list!). It is an excerpt from information posted at http://azmemory.lib.az.us/cdm4/index.php?CISOROOT=/phfafr and provided by the Oracle Historical Society and Acadia Ranch Museum. We’re simply re-packaging the information with photos and distributing it to a wider audience.

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