Front of Courthouse Front of Annex
Front of Commissioner’s Front of Jail Front of Magistrate
Building Building
The McDowell County Courthouse was built in 1909 and has three stories and a basement. The building’s foundation is in good condition, but the building’s stone exterior and the interior are in poor condition.
The exterior of the building has many problems, such as pieces of stone are falling from the floors above, the roof and skylights have leakage problems, the gutters and downspouts are in poor condition, and the windows are in poor condition. We recommend that all exterior stone masonry on the original building, stone additions, and retaining walls be restored. This would include tuck pointing, repairing and patching the masonry. This would also include consolidant application (a binder) and water repellent treatment to the exterior. We also recommend the installation of a new roof. This would include removing the existing roof and replacing with a new slate roof. In addition, the gutter system also needs to be replaced with a new box gutter system with downspouts, and all the windows should be replaced with historical sashes.
The
interior of the building also has many problems such as the walls, ceilings and
floors of the courthouse are in poor condition from years of roof leaks. The
basement is very wet and is open to the outside through broken windows. We recommend that the interior of all three
stories and the basement be completely remodeled. This would include all new
flooring, drywall, trim, paint, interior doors with
To improve security in the building, we recommend that all access to the building be restricted to one entrance. A magnetometer and X-ray machine needs to be installed at the entrance, and an alarm system needs to be installed on all windows and exterior doors except the main entrance. Duress buttons need to be installed on the Secretary’s, Clerk’s and Prosecuting Attorney’s desks. There should be a closed circuit television system, access control package, and a security console installed.
The
McDowell County Annex was built in the 1930s and has two stories and a
basement. This building has both
exterior and interior problems. We
recommend that the exterior of the building be cleaned, and the exterior
masonry be cleaned and the brick and mortar be patched. There should be a structural engineer
consulted for further evaluation of the foundation. In addition, the roof needs replaced, and the
doors and windows need replaced with commercial grade doors and sashes. The interior of the building needs to be
completely remodeled. This would include all new flooring, drywall, trim,
paint, interior doors with ADA hardware, ceilings, light fixtures and keyed
switches, receptacles, bathrooms, rewiring the inside of the building, and
install a new HVAC system. The foundation needs repaired per engineer’s
recommendation. There should be a fire
alarm system, sprinkler system and emergency lights installed. During the renovation, there should be a
second exit in the courtroom built in, and there should be an emergency exit
from all levels of the building. We also
recommend the stairwell be enclosed with fire rated doors. During the renovation process, there should
be an installation of
The
McDowell County Commissioner’s
The McDowell County Jail was built in 1976. It is approximately 16,500 square feet and it has two stories and a basement. The general exterior of the building is in good condition, but it should be cleaned. The windows in this building should be replaced with commercial sashes. This building’s interior should be renovated and during the renovation process there should be a security system installed.
The McDowell County Magistrate building is approximately 9,810 square feet, and it has three stories and a basement. The brick exterior of the building is in good condition but it should be cleaned, and re-pointed. Some cracks at the bottom of the building, and the sagging floor system inside the building should be investigated by a structural engineer. The frontal windows should be replaced with new commercial grade windows, and panic hardware should be installed on the basement door. All the fire alarm pull stations should be lowered to standard height. All access to the building should be restricted to the main entrance where a magnetometer and X-ray machine needs to be installed to improve security. Also, to improve security, an alarm system on all windows and exterior doors, except the main entrance should be installed, and a duress button and ballistic material need to be installed on the judge’s bench on the first floor. For this building to meet all the ADA compatibility requirements, we recommend that an ADA parking, including sign and paint, at the entrance to the building be provided, and ADA signs throughout the building in corridors and on doors, a ramp leading to the witness stand, and an elevator be installed in the building.
Total cost of this project: $9,323,640.00