It looks like a plan to build a new federal courthouse in downtown Greenville is advancing.
The General Services Administration earmarked $93,999,000 for site preparation, design and construction of a new courthouse and inside parking spaces across from the Greenville County Courthouse, according to the agency’s 2016 Courthouse Investment Plan submitted to Congress Monday.
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the congressional committees that authorize courthouse construction must approve the plan before construction can begin.
The new courthouse will contain seven courtrooms and nine chambers to accommodate nine judges. Other court-related tenants include the U.S. Probation, Federal Public Defender and U.S. Department of Justice agencies.
When the new courthouse is completed, the Haynsworth Federal Building will be utilized by the Court of Appeals and Bankruptcy Court as well as federal agencies currently located in leased space in the area.
The agency also plans to build courthouses in Nashville, Tenn.; Toledo, Ohio; Charlotte, N.C., Des Moines, Iowa; Anniston, Ala.; Savannah, Ga.; and San Antonio, Texas. The plan also includes a feasibility study for Harrisburg, Penn.
To read the GSA Courthouse Investment Plan, click here.
Talk of a new federal courthouse in Greenville started in the late 1990s.
The GSA earmarked $11 million for the Greenville project in 2004. In 2013, the federal government purchased 2.4 acres for the new courthouse.
No timetable for construction has been released.
The GSA said it will complete a feasibility student to determine the appropriate funding request, schedule and implementation of any future project for the existing courthouse, according to a statement on the GSA’s website.
