by SEAN BATURA
Hays County is on schedule to move most of its offices and courts into its new 232,209-square-foot Hays County Government Center by the end of December, officials said on Tuesday.
The building, located on Stagecoach Trail near Wonder World Drive in San Marcos, is the county’s most expensive capital improvement project to date. The project is budgeted to cost $63.8 million, considerably less than the $100-$115 million number being batted around a few years ago.
“It is a lot of money, but if you think back (and realize) you haven’t done any building for 30 years – it’s not,” said Hays County Judge Bert Cobb. “And, really, it’s a great time to do it because of the economy – building prices are down. So, really, we’re getting good values for our dollar by building it now.”
The new building will be open for business in January.
Hays County departments scheduled for the move are located throughout San Marcos, often in leased space that department heads and elected officials say is far from adequate. Adult Probation is officed in a strip center on Sessoms Drive along with a bar and a smokeshop. Trials are held in a former grocery story converted to the Hays County Justice Center, which has been dubbed the HEB Hall of Justice.
To prepare for the move, the commissioners court has been terminating leases and working on other moving prep work for buildings it will be vacating, including Adult Probation, the Elections Office and the Hays County Pct. 3 commissioner office in downtown San Marcos. The Personal Health Department, located at 401-A Broadway Street, is not moving to the government center.
The county hired CBRE to help sell or lease four buildings in downtown San Marcos. CBRE has conducted an analysis of the properties and is now seeking buyers and renters. The buildings in question are the Annex Building (14,709 square feet), the Records Building, (8,014 s.f.), the Max C. Smith Building (3,292 s.f.), and the Justice Center (39,527 s.f.).
The county is keeping the familiar domed courthouse in downtown San Marcos where the county judge, Pct. 1 and Pct. 3 commissioners, Veterans Services and other offices will be housed.
The county sold $67.3 million in certificates of obligation last year for the government center. The county received $71 million from the bond sale because bidders for the COs gave a premium totaling $3.7 million, including interest. The CO sale represents the most money the county has ever borrowed without voter approval. The county is scheduled to pay about $120.4 million – $67.3 million in principal and about $53 million in interest – for the government center by the time the county pays off the note in 2035.
Since the project began, the county realized $1.5 million in subcontractor savings over original quotes.
The government center, planned as a one-stop-shop for most county services, will house these county offices:
New Digs
• Information Technology
• Adult Probation
• Juvenile Probation
• Grants Administration
• Conference Center
• Fitness, Cafeteria/Snack
• Courthouse Security
• Elections
• Human Resources
• Auditor
• Treasurer
• Tax Assessor
• District Clerk
• Constable
• Compliance & Collections
• Justice of the Peace
• County Court at Law
• County Clerk
• Law Library
• Grand Jury
• District Attorney
• District Court
