At the Thursday, Nov. 6 meeting, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is set to approve several major moves to continue restoring the fire-damaged Katie S. Cashion Center at 201 S. Greene St. in downtown Greensboro.
A fire on July 6 of this year caused extensive damage to the county-owned building, which had been home to the Guilford County Family Justice Center, Human Resources Department, and Finance Department.
On Monday, October 28, 2024, the building on Greene Street was renamed the Katie S. Cashion Center in honor of longtime commissioner Kay Cashion, who was one of the prime movers in establishing the Family Justice Center. She really enjoyed it when she showed up at the building for what she thought was a routine stop with friends and discovered a large group of people there waiting for the surprise birthday related dedication in her name.
It was a much sadder time late last year when a blaze and a great deal of smoke damage forced the Family Justice Center to temporarily relocate operations to the Guilford County Courthouse across the street – a move that’s stretched on for months as stabilization and remediation work in the building continued.
Now, county staff say it’s time to move forward with a full restoration and return the Family Justice Center to its home base.
The commissioners are expected to approve three major actions: awarding a design-build contract, increasing a stabilization contract, and approving a related budget amendment totaling $3.4 million.
The proposed design-build contract, valued at $652,448, is slated to go to Holt Brothers Construction of Raleigh, with Clearscapes Architecture of Durham handling design duties.
Both firms are certified historically under-utilized business firms and they have partnered on many public-sector projects in the past. Their work will produce a Guaranteed Maximum Price for construction – to be brought back later for board approval – and they will focus on a phased design meant to get the building re-occupied as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, commissioners are expected to amend an earlier contract with Sasser Restoration by $1.9 million to cover the full stabilization cost of $2.9 million. That work has included structural reinforcement, contents and file cleaning, and other fire-related restoration tasks.
The good news is that these costs are expected to be offset by insurance proceeds.
In addition to the design and stabilization work, the board is also expected to approve funding for immediate restoration of the first and second floors – where the Family Justice Center operates. That portion of the project, totaling $871,920, includes ceiling and flooring repairs, painting, furniture replacement and IT equipment to replace items lost to smoke and fire damage.
The third floor of the Cashion Building will require a complete rebuild since its interior walls and ceiling were removed during stabilization. The basement, which sustained minimal damage, is considered a lower priority for now.
The total budget amendment of $3,424,368 will be funded through the county’s internal service fund using insurance reimbursements. If insurance doesn’t cover all costs, staff will return to the board with other funding sources.
The actions expected Thursday will mark a major step toward restoring one of the county’s key downtown facilities – and eventually bringing the Family Justice Center and other departments back home after the July fire.
