Planning commission approves exterior plans for Morgan County Courthouse renovation; county says design release received and renovation to be phased

The planning commission approved historic-district exterior plans for a comprehensive renovation of the Morgan County Courthouse, a county representative told the board the project includes full exterior masonry, window and roof work, a small ADA-related addition, and an extensive interior gut and modernization.

Brian Carter, representing the Morgan County commissioners, said the county has been planning the judicial campus work for years and is proceeding in phases. He said prior studies dating back to 1974 concluded the building was obsolete, and the current renovation will modernize mechanical, electrical and circulation systems while preserving historic materials where feasible. “We are totally replacing the roof, with all new roof panels… we're cleaning all of the brick, all of the stone on the building,” architect Eric Grama later told the commission.

County representatives said they received the Indiana Department of Homeland Security design-release package for the project on Feb. 24, 2025. The county described a phased move-in: courts and county offices will temporarily occupy a new judicial center and then the historic courthouse will be renovated for administrative and other county functions. County leaders said the project will be owner-occupied in the first quarter of 2027 and noted a July 2 building dedication for the new judicial center.

Architect Eric Grama detailed exterior work — new roofing, gutters, downspouts, soffits, fascias, and repointing with appropriate mortar — and said the team consulted preservation professionals and selected sympathetic materials where exact matches were not available. The commission voted to approve the exterior historic-district plans; staff and county leaders asked the public to review the full set of submitted drawings if they wanted more detail.