Groundbreaking on Delaware County Courthouse Project

A groundbreaking ceremony took place Monday morning for the Delaware County Courthouse project in Manchester.

The courthouse will be expanding, with a new 13,500 square foot addition to be built on the east courthouse lawn. Delaware County Supervisor Jeff Madlom says it’s a project they’ve been working on for a few years now.

The new addition will incorporate the same architecture and aesthetic as the historic courthouse, which was built in 1894. It will be handicap-accessible and serve as the new home to the Treasurer’s Office and Auditor’s Office. Madlom says the Treasurer’s Office will be located on the bottom floor since it has the most traffic, with the Auditor’s Office on the second floor. The new and old buildings will connect where the current Supervisors’ office is located.

The project will also include the expansion of parking on the south side of the courthouse, where the old jail and Sheriff’s Office stood. Both of those buildings were demolished last fall. The southeast parking lot closed last week for construction, with visitors asked to use the angle parking on the west side of the courthouse. 

The County received a total of ten bidders for the project, with Merit Construction in Cedar Rapids awarded the project for $5,097,000. Madlom says that’s nearly a million dollars lower than their anticipated estimate of $6 million, noting they had the funds set aside so the County wouldn’t have to bond. 

The courthouse project will be done in five phases, with everything expected to wrap up next summer.

Madlom says he hopes the courthouse project shows that Delaware County is progressing.

County, city and other officials and partners gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday morning.

audio and photo courtesy of Janelle Tucker/KMCH