Clark County offices moving locations due to building renovations

Four Clark County offices will be temporarily moved to another location while the historic A.B. Graham Building undergoes renovations.

The county will spend $2.5 million for a project to upgrade the building on N. Limestone in downtown Springfield.

Right now, the nearly 75 employees who work in the building deal with inefficient heating, window air conditioning units, out-of-date wiring, plumbing, storage and amenities that aren’t compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In Clark County Auditor John Federer’s own office, there is no heat at all. He’s forced to use a space heater to keep it warm during the winter — a lot to ask when temperatures dip below zero.

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“This building was built in 1901 and it was built with 1901 technology,” said Federer. “It’s not suitable to do work like we do today.”

The county recently replaced windows in the building and made improvements to the outside of the building in 2017 — but now it’s time to take the project inside.

Clark County Commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt previously said the project will be very intensive, calling it a “gut job.”

Federer’s office, as well as the Clark County Recorder, Clark County Treasurer and Tax Map Office will be moved to the Bushnell Building, located at 14 E. Main Street beginning Sept. 9.

The Clark County Common Pleas Court Domestic Relations division will be moved to the Clark County Juvenile Court, just across the street from the A.B. Graham Building.

The offices will be closed for several days in early September while the move takes place, but will be back open for business at the new location until the renovation is complete.

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The building holds a lot of history to the Clark County community — named after the founder of 4-H — and during the renovation, several architectural details will be salvaged including the brass railings, marble on the walls and woodwork.

Federer said that the temporary inconvenience of the move will be well worth it when the project is all said and done.

He’s looking forward to the physical realignment of offices so navigating the auditor’s office will be easier for both his employees and the taxpayers.

“I’m excited for what this is gonna mean to the image of Clark County — that we’re fresh, that we’re on the move and that good things are happening here,” Federer said.

The county said more details about the move will be released as more specific dates are finalized.

The renovation is scheduled to be completed by June 2020.


118 — age of A.B. Graham Building

$2.5M — cost of renovation

75 — employees that will be moved to Bushnell Building during renovation

The Springfield News-Sun has made covering new renovations and construction in the community a priority, including preview coverage of the interior renovations to the A.B. Graham Building last May and exterior renovations in 2017.

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