Cass County Courthouse to be renovated and repurposed after sitting vacant for over decade

 

CASSOPOLIS, Mich. – After years of sitting empty and needing serious renovations, work is finally underway to restore the old Cass County Courthouse building.

Built in 1899, the last serious renovations done at the courthouse were completed in 1976, adding a courthouse annex to hold county administration services—such as the county clerk, treasurer and other offices.

But the courthouse was vacated in 2003, after the completion of the Law and Courts building just outside of town, and sat empty, falling into disrepair—and the problems began to stack up.

Cass County Administrator described some of the issues: “There had been drop ceilings that had been put in throughout the building. A lot of finishes and surfaces were in disarray. We had a few different leaks from the foundation over the years.”

And the county could not afford the costs to do another renovation; one feasibility study conducted in 2007 projected the cost at upwards of $7 million.

“Money money money money,” summarized Skip Dyes, Board Chair of the Cass County Commission. “It would be another twenty years to save that money for the general fund.”

But, after applying for funds through the American Rescue Plan (ARPA), the county is finally able to begin the project, and approved it on October 7, 2022—with over $8 million in ARPA funds and over $1.5 million from the Public Improvement Fund—to not only restore the building, but repurpose it as well, by moving the administration offices from the annex back into the main courthouse building.

“This was actually constructed at the same time as the last renovations to the courthouse, and it’s really outgrown its ability to serve its own needs now,” said Newton. “Moving forward with this project would revitalize a historic building, give an opportunity for residents to have a much better time interacting with the county in completing business and providing our employees a much better environment into the future.”

County officials are thrilled they’re able to keep the old courthouse building standing in downtown Cassopolis.

“It makes me feel real good,” said Dyes. “I think it’s good for the county. I think this building will be standing another one hundred years from now.”

Newton said that now that they’re planning on moving all the administrative offices into the old courthouse, they’re now going to need to figure out what to do with the courthouse annex now that it’s looking to sit empty, but he added that will be determined in the future.

They hope to complete the restoration project between 2023 and 2024.