A private consulting firm hired by the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors on Thursday unveiled a rendering of what a new county courthouse could look like in the Town of Washington.

The Buildings Committee reviewed the design at a meeting and plan to present the proposal created by consultant Wiley-Wilson to the Board of Supervisors at their next regular meeting on Sept. 7. High resolution renderings of the structure are not yet available, but will be displayed at the September meeting.

This proposal comes as the Board of Supervisors and Buildings Committee continue to discuss potentially deteriorating county buildings in the Town of Washington and what a plan for restoration and renovation of other county-owned structures could look like moving forward. Site plans for other potential building renovations have not been released.

The proposed courthouse is a first rendering of what a new building could look like. Members of the Buildings Committee agreed on Thursday that extensive public input will be needed before the bodies make any decisions.

The new courthouse proposed by Randy Vaughan, vice president and project manager at Wiley-Wilson, will still face Gay Street and be situated on the current courthouse complex. The new building would have two floors, elevators for accessibility, separate spaces for attorneys, witnesses, and members of the public, and a separate entrance for judges. The courtroom would be gallery seating and hold 80 people.

The proposed courthouse would also have office space for the commonwealth attorney and their staff, along with the Circuit Court Clerk and juvenile and General District Court offices. County Administrator Garrey Curry said the estimated cost of the new building is $2 million, but the final price tag is expected to change once construction begins.

Buildings Committee member Dale Waters, who has also worked as an architect, said the proposed building looks like it’s trying to imitate the design of other historic buildings, and “trying to match historic buildings insults them.” Curry said he thinks this design is “middle of the road” between a historic and modern look. Other members of the committee, including Piedmont Supervisor Christine Smith and Jackson Supervisor Ron Frazier, were much less critical of the design.

All final designs will need to be approved by the Town of Washington’s Architectural Review Board. Washington officials have indicated they intend to be flexible with the county to help accommodate the project. Buildings Committee members during the meeting tried to not dwell on the finer details of the model, but the rendering reflects the most definitive vision of the project to date.

The rendering showed a building with dark gray roofing, red brick and white windows and shutters. The building is not a square shape, and instead has three connected units that extend outward. This model depicts a similar entrance to the courthouse complex to what currently exists, with multiple paths leading to county buildings from Gay Street.

The Buildings Committee has been working on plans to restore and renovate county buildings in the town, including the courthouse which has been deemed to suffer from significant “life and safety” concerns outlined in a 2020 study by the Alexandria-based consultant. Current issues with the courthouse include a lack of access for disabled people and inadequate space to separate members of the public, jury, defendants, witnesses, attorneys and judges. The current courthouse design forces all of those parties to walk up and down the same staircase.

Public bodies in the county have been using the courthouse as a meeting space, and a judge can decide to prohibit those meetings at any point if they wish. A judge can also decide the Rappahannock County courthouse is too unsafe and prohibit the space from being used at all, even for legal functions.

If the current courthouse is torn down, it is not yet clear where the county will hold court functions or where public bodies will hold meetings.

The Buildings Committee gave a presentation to the Board of Supervisors in May about the implications of renovating and restoring the existing courthouse, rather than constructing a new building. It was determined by the committee that renovating the current historic building would be more costly than building a new one, with an estimated cost of $9 million.

The Board of Supervisors will review the concepts at their Sept. 7 meeting during the 7 p.m. session, where public comment will be available.

Sign up for Rapp News Daily, a free newsletter delivered to your email inbox every morning.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Rapp News and Foothills Forum are continuously covering local news in our community. Sign up to have the Rapp News Daily delivered free to your inbox every morning. Click here to sign up...

Community support for the nonprofit, nonpartisan Foothills Forum provides research and reporting about Rappahannock County matters, in collaboration with the Rappahannock News. Here's our work so far...

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.

Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.

Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds light and variable.

Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.

Check your email for details.

Invalid password or account does not exist

Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.

An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.

Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.

A receipt was sent to your email.