Demolition to begin this month to make way for Franklin County judicial center

CHAMBERSBURG - Several of Franklin County's buildings are about to come down to make room for the new judicial center. 

Demolition of three buildings on North Main Street will tentatively take place in the next week or two, according to Julia Lehman, communications coordinator for Franklin County Board of Commissioners. Interior remediation work is underway. 

The contractor will determine in which order the buildings are torn down, but the county knows the one-story building that was once the home of a lighting company will be the first, Lehman said. Also coming down will be the old Chambersburg Trust building, which housed the commissioners' offices next door to the Old Courthouse, and the building next to the expanded King Street Church parking lot, which was the former home of a uniform shop. 

The former Sheetz convenience store at 272 N. Second St. also will be razed. Demolition is projected to cost about $1.3 million, and is scheduled to be done by Jan. 30. 

Once the buildings are down, the east side of the first block of North Main Street will be empty for a short period before the construction phase of the $67.8 million Court Facility Improvement Project begins. The project includes the construction of a new judicial center and administration building, as well as interior renovations to the existing courthouse annex, the old courthouse and a building on North Second Street for archives office space and storage. Ground-breaking is slated for spring. 

A fence has gone up around the perimeter of the structures that will be demolished, and it will remain there until the whole project is completed. 

Lehman said county commissioners do not yet know how traffic will be affected while demolition and construction is going on. 

"Safety and security are top priorities, so if road closures or traffic restrictions become necessary, we will work with the appropriate authorities and minimize inconveniences. Any traffic changes will be communicated with the public in a timely manner," she said. 

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Commissioners said overseeing this effort is their number one budget priority for next year, the release states.

The project, which is expected to be complete in 2021, was proposed in January to address safety and security needs for those visiting and working in these offices, adequate space to meet the demands of a growing county and co-locating court offices and services into one courthouse campus for efficiency and convenience.

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For more information on the Court Facility Improvement Project, visit franklincountypa.gov or email facilityprojectinfo@franklincountypa.gov.

Ashley Books contributed to this report.