CRESTVIEW — The City Council got a first public glimpse of the proposed façade design for the proposed new courthouse that will crown Main Street.
Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners Chairman Nathan Boyles, a Main Street attorney, presented the rendering Monday evening to the council.
The drawing was presented the night before it will be shown to Boyles' fellow commissioners at Tuesday's board meeting, which will be held at the courthouse slated for demolition within a year.
Boyles said the design, one of three façades created by Sam Marshall Architects, was chosen by the Crestview Historical Preservation Board to best reflect the style and massing of the county's original 1918 courthouse that once stood on the same site.
BETTER INTEGRATION
Preservation board President Ann Spann said the new design will better integrate the building into the city's historic district, unlike the existing 1950s modern style courthouse, Boyles said.
And rather than turning its back on downtown Crestview, unlike the current courthouse's U.S. Highway 90 entrance, Boyles assured the councilmen that the new building will proudly face downtown.
"One of the things I've insisted on is to return the entrance of the building to Main Street," Boyles said.
The new courthouse will be approximately 65,000 square feet in size, Boyles said, as compared to the current 1950s courthouse's 50,000 square feet.
By moving the building's footprint closer to Hwy. 90, between 50 and 65 more parking spaces will be added, he said.
IMMEDIATE START
The county wants to begin relocating courthouse functions and employees to other locations, most likely in the south end of the county, at the start of the new year.
Boyles said he wants to see the process of relocation and demolition of the old building accomplished "with all possible haste" to get the new building built and functioning, returning court functions and services to the county seat.
Councilman JB Whitten praised the commissioners for expediting the project, while Councilman Bill Cox praised to the new design.
"We're working together for a common goal and we appreciate this," Council President Shannon Hayes said.
"I really believe we're heading for a renaissance in downtown Crestview," Boyles said.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview courthouse design presented