The rehabilitation of the landmark 1904 Coweta County Courthouse is on schedule for completion sometime this summer. Coweta County commissioners April 6 authorized several work orders for the $6.284 million project.
Among the change orders were those that carried credits of $65,981. They included replacing aesthetic finishes with higher impact resistant finishes in the basement restroom, a value engineering alternative to delete resilient flooring in several rooms and the deletion of a lift in the upstairs courtroom. A removable ramp and turn-around ramp will be used in its place.
Other change orders included repairs to ornamental plaster in the courtroom and the extension of builders risk insurance at a cost of $10,156.
Work on the special purpose local option sales tax-funded (SPLOST) project began in late 2008 after Headley Construction was awarded the rehabilitation contract with a bid of $6.284 million. The project is on schedule to be completed this summer.
The bid included all needed work on the building’s interior and exterior. Of the six potential alternatives relating to the eye-catching courthouse roofing, commissioners decided on the alternative that included replacing all the copper on the clock tower with new copper and replacement of all missing ornamentation.
The floorplan of the building will remain essentially the same but with the addition of an elevator and additional restrooms. Original octagon tile will cover the first floor hallways and the pine floors in other areas is being re-worked to bring them back to the original finish. The walls in some of the office areas are undergoing major needed rehab and, once completed, will be restored with structural foam.
Upstairs in the ornate courtroom, the floor will be outfitted with cork tile as it was more than 100 years ago. Once complete, the courtroom will be used by the Coweta County Probate Court.
When it was built, the courthouse required only 10 months to complete and at a cost of $60,000 for the exterior along with $72,000 in interior furnishings, according to Headley project manager Albert “Bubba” Johnston.
