January 17, 2020
Progress Update: Court Facility Improvement Project
The multi-faceted Franklin County Court Facility Improvement project is progressing on schedule and continues to be within budget according to Project Manager John Hart. An update was provided to the Board of Commissioners Thursday morning.
The multi-faceted Franklin County Court Facility Improvement project is progressing on schedule and continues to be within budget according to Project Manager John Hart. An update was provided to the Board of Commissioners Thursday morning, covering the status of the sites that make up the $67.8 million project.
Archives Facility [340 N Second Street] – Renovations to the document storage area are substantially complete and the space is in use. Plans for employee offices and a public area are in development. The office/public area renovation is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2020 and be complete in Spring 2021.
December 2019 – Archives Facility Storage
October 2019 – Archives Facility Storage
June 2019 – Archives Facility Storage
Administration Building [272 N Second Street] – The underground utilities are in place and foundation walls and piers are poured. Steel beam construction is set to begin next week. The building is expected to be substantially complete in September 2020.
Judicial Center [20 N Main Street] – Foundation work is underway and cross-structural walls will soon be in place. Structural steel is set to start the middle of February. Contractors continue to backfill the foundation walls and the installation of a storm water system is to start late February. The County is working with Chambersburg Borough on installing pipework for storm water drainage. Project completion is anticipated in Fall 2021.
Old Courthouse [2 Main Street] – Renovations are anticipated to begin in February 2021 with completion in August 2021.
Courthouse Annex [157 Lincoln Way East] – It is anticipated that bids for this renovation project will be solicited in late 2020.
Hart reported that the total cost of change orders[1] is currently less than 1% of the overall project budget. The amount of change orders for a complex project like the Court Facility Improvement Project typically runs between 8 – 11%, but Hart’s goal is to stay below that average. “We have a good team of local contractors, architects, and engineers on this project working with us to keep change orders at a minimum,” he said.
“Until you start digging, you just don’t know,” said Commissioner Chairman Dave Keller. “We have done our due diligence, but also understand that there are unknowns when it comes to working with old infrastructure. A contingency has been built into the budget for this as a way of expecting the unexpected,” he said.
As part of project planning, the County earmarked 10% of the budget for contingency. As of Wednesday, the overall facility project has seen $232,000 in change orders which is 0.48% of combined active contracts.
Once complete, the facility project will offer increased safety and security to those visiting and working in court offices, adequate space to meet the demands of a growing county, and the convenience and efficiency of co-located offices and services. For more information, please visit www.franklincountypa.gov or e-mail: facilityprojectinfo@
For a still image tour of the future Judicial Center, please visit https://gis.franklincountypa.
1] Change orders are created when work is added or deleted from the original scope of work in a contract.
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