The Carbon County Commissioners unveiled an updated renovation project in an effort to resolve space issues in several county offices.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner on Thursday noted the start of the plan is to renovate the past Archives and 76 Buildings on Susquehanna Street in what will be known as the 44/76 Renovation Project.

“During this time the three of us (commissioners) and an architect met with several stakeholders, including the departments, to have their input,” he said. “From the start, our focus was to allow for growth, save tax dollars, make access for the public and employees user friendly and fit the architecture of Jim Thorpe.”

Ahner is optimistic the layout will be both cost-effective and efficient.

“This phase solves half the space dilemma at a third of the original cost projections,” said Ahner. “With that said the next step we are looking at reconfiguring offices in the courthouse and pursuing other avenues to alleviate the county’s overall space issues.

“The 44 Building will have the partial second floor removed and a full height second floor will be added to create a two-story building on the original building footprint. This building will house the departments of Elections, Planning and Workforce currently at 76 Susquehanna. With this move the 76 Building will be renovated to accommodate adult probation, Veterans Affairs and juvenile probation on the first floor with children & youth and domestic relations staying on the second floor.”

The advertisement to bid is set to last until the end of August, with construction slated to begin the last week of October. The projected time of completion should be around August 2021, so elections could be operating and preparing for the November general election.

Ahner noted that the architect took pictures of several styles of buildings on Broadway to come up with the presented building.

“In our meetings with church members, local historians and officials we addressed our concerns from the St. Mark’s Church stained glass to everyday local operations,” he said. “The comments that everyone had in common was, ‘That’s the building? I never expected it to look like this.’ And I think if you look at the picture, it fits Jim Thorpe.”

“This project didn’t start when this board came together in January. In the past there was a little, let call it ‘constructive criticism.’?” Ahner said.

The commissioners planned to construct a 66,279-square-foot office building with an associated 110-space parking garage along Susquehanna Street to alleviate the crowded courthouse, providing new space for several departments, as well as creating a fourth courtroom for the potential of an additional judge down the road. The project originally began in June 2018.

But one large concern overshadowed the project - the potential of damaging the historic St. Mark’s and St. John’s Episcopal Church that sits directly above the proposed site, and built into the mountain that would need to be chipped away to create enough room for the building.

The church’s concern was the effects that removing a portion of the mountain, which serves as the building’s foundation, would have on the building down the road, as well as the priceless historical pieces, such as the large stained glass Tiffany windows, which cannot be replaced if damaged.

Ahner said, “But I feel this gave us a better overall view of the wants and needs of Carbon County. It does house the appropriate people and give them the appropriate space. Our steps are going to continue on this; it’s going to take a couple more months to get everything else worked out, but I could sign off on this. I think it’s very good. My hat’s off to the architects.”

Commissioner Chris Lukasevich praised the cooperation of the borough in helping to develop the design.

“They were great in their participation in helping us work through this with the other stakeholders,” he said. “So thanks to St. Mark’s Church, the Borough of Jim Thorpe, the local architect historian who provided us with some valuable input on that.”