Government Center Redevelopment Renderings. (Columbus: how much, live in, cost of)

[Columbus1984]

Originally Posted by Fountain-of-youth

Demolish the structure then sell the land.

That’s idiotic. That building can be converted into a multitude of different things.

[Fountain-of-youth]

Originally Posted by Columbus1984

That’s idiotic. That building can concerted into a multitude of different things.

I agree. There's no reason to move all city gov't offices outside downtown.

[columbusboy8]

Originally Posted by Fountain-of-youth

Demolish the structure then sell the land.

Instead of paying to demolish it, sell it for the cost of the demolition and land value. Somebody will buy it and renovate it far cheaper than building a similar building from scratch. Put it up for auction, with a reserve, and advertise it widely. It's worth a shot!

[JayHey]

I think the idea of the city selling that land is bad. Having a large presence Downtown is a good thing. None of the business owners of nearby restaurants and shops would like the sound of that. The government center brings thousands of people every weekday there.

Some of y'all keep saying to sell it and let some private developer build something new or convert the building. I'd like to hear what buyer y'all think exists who would do that? The tower is too big for any private development. No business plan exists on this green Earth that would make that investment profitable.

And as for redeveloping the land and demo, there is available land in the area which doesn't come with the costs of removing that size of a tower.

[wenlo]

Just abandon it and let the natural Columbus cycle of meth vagrants burning it down for the sweet insurance monies.

[Fountain-of-youth]

The city is so pressed on relocating parts (if not all) of the city government housing to a different area.

[Fountain-of-youth]

If the money is right,we will relocate all parts! Skip on WTVM.

[TheYoungProfessional]

Originally Posted by Fountain-of-youth

If the money is right,we will relocate all parts! Skip on WTVM.

Terrible

[Fountain-of-youth]

Originally Posted by TheYoungProfessional

Terrible

Yes it is. That block is so historic for our courthouse/city hall. To move all departments for money gain is crazy. I repeat,this city not getting an 500 room hotel no time soon.

[Fountain-of-youth]

Over the past few months, several updates have been given on the future of the Columbus Government Center.

During Tuesday’s city council meeting, officials discussed the results of the public forums and votes held earlier this year.

Four options for the future of the government center were presented to the public, as well as city employees, during three public forums earlier this year. More than half of the voters shared the same opinion.

“Yeah what I think we saw pretty clearly was in every one of the meetings, we held even with the employees is that their first option, their first choice would be option four which would be to relocate the judicial building and the general government building off its current site," said Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson.

Columbus Deputy City Manager Pam Hodge presented an update on the government center to the city council Tuesday. She shared that out of 150 votes at public meetings earlier this month, 77 voters favor demolishing the current structure and moving everything to a new site.

“I kind of favor option four if the money part works out, simply because it’s the only way we’re going to turn that spend into a turn on investment,” Henderson said. “I think there’s some potential sites we may be able to look at that it would really stimulate some economic development and generate some money coming back into the general fund.”

Hodge said the public was concerned about the overall cost when submitting their votes. However, no site has been chosen yet if they do move forward with relocating the government center. So, a true budget can’t be set yet.

“It seems to me that our first step would be to determine the location," said Councilwoman Charmaine Crabb. "We can’t do a design or anything until we know the location.”

“Yeah we need to get it moving,” Henderson said. "We’ve talked about it a lot. The building’s not getting any younger.”

The mayor is asking the Columbus City Council to come back with a recommendation within the next 30 days.

City officials discuss options for future of Columbus Government Center