AG 2007 07 23 - Laserfiche WebLink

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r~,i-~,_~ SITE EVAZLIATION As indicated in previous jail needs studies, although this site footprint could potentially host a new jail facility of the required size, any 6uikling would have m be at leas[ six stories in height, and probably eight, hodt a technical violation of the City of Concord's height limitations for the Center Ciry zoning designation, and a questionable aesthetic statement fur downtown Concord; the jail could paencially be the tallest building downtown an<l would be considerably higher than the current courthouse. Such a building would also overwhelm the his'mric cmuthouse.'I'ktis option mold nllow the existing courthouse to expand into the current jail site but would prevent any jail expansion beyond Means Avenue, unless additional property on the north side of Means Avenue were acquired, most significant oFwlfich would be the current Wachovia property and the What-a-Burger restaurant az the intersection of Chinch Street and Means Avenue. An equally serious concern with expansion of the avrent jail on this site is its effective prevention of any expansion of the existing courthouse. Expansion of the courthouse m [he southeast, nn the present jail site, would allow the courthouse to gain a significant street presence and potentially a public entrance on Church Street. Tlxe County Government Cenrer across Church Street would also benefit from this expansion by gaining a more direct connexion m the courthouse, rather than facing the Sheriffs Department parking lot as it does currently. Any addition to the existing jail in this locution would make [he jail facility as a whole a subuantial tong-rerm investment for the county, making its demolition in eight co ten years, once couas needs hove escnlaced, unlikely. This would !cove dte county with a jail chat might meet short-term space needs, and be mu recent an investment to abandon but leave the courthouse with nowhere to expand when it needed to do so. Sniff parking needs, should this sice be selected, also present a significant problem. The elimination of the current Sherifts Department parking lot would require the County to immediately either devote the surface parking lot az the southeast corner of Church Svee[ and Means Avenue m law enforcement parking, eliminating some 100 public parking spaces, or acyuice o[her property for staff parking. The most likely candidate far this would be the What-a-Burger building located at the corner of Church Street and Means Avenue, as well as additional property on the notth side of Means Avenue. The previous study also proposed the closing of Means Avenue or its dedication exclusively to law enforcement/jail use as a way to gain additional parking and service space for the jail. The factors pored above presto[ serious obstacles en an efficient long-term use of the County's property resources. The blocking of any expansion of the courthouse is of particular conmrn, since the 30-year space needs for the courts are predicted to be twice the space current available in the courthouse. Along with the site's limited area, the need for fature courts expansion suggests the entire block between Union and Church Sneers and Means and Corban Avenues should be devoted exclusively to courts expansion. April BfH)4 6 • ^ /` • G•'1