A historic preservation consultant told the County Commission on Aug. 20 that a masonry jail behind the courthouse appears structurally sound and should be studied for reuse before the county decides to demolish it.
Mike Giolis, a historic preservation consultant who said he was invited by Commissioner Burnett to inspect the building, told commissioners the structure has some roof leaks and hazardous materials such as lead paint and asbestos but is not in obvious structural distress. "We feel that if it's demolished, it will never, you won't be able to return it," Giolis said.
Giolis said the building's internal constraints limit conventional occupied reuse. He told commissioners the floor-to-floor heights leave finished ceilings of about 7 feet, 8 inches on interior floors, and the building currently has only one stairwell, factors that would increase code and accessibility work for office or residential conversion.
But Giolis said repurposing for uses that do not require typical human-occupancy layouts could be feasible. He identified a "mini or micro data center" as one possible candidate and cited an example in his hometown where a small one-story facility was built to support local internet service. "That seems to be a viable activity," he said.
On costs, Giolis said he had not measured the building but estimated rough ballpark rehabilitation costs at about $100 to $150 per square foot for uses of the sort he described. He emphasized that final feasibility and costs would depend on the specific reuse chosen: "It depends on the activity, of course, because some of them would require infrastructure that would be expensive."
Giolis also outlined potential study and funding sources that could pay for investigation or cleanup, including the State Historic Preservation Office, the Brownfields assistance program, and regional initiatives such as Downtown Appalachia and Opportunity Appalachia. He said state historic preservation tax credits can be monetized and cited previous local projects that used similar credits.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about usability and costs; Giolis recommended pursuing a formal study to identify potential uses and to determine whether rehabilitation is feasible before committing to demolition. The commission did not vote on any action at the meeting but a commissioner said the report "gives us something to discuss at a later point in time."