Painesville new home for county building

A new administrative building under construction in Painesville will soon become the main administration hub for Lake County.

Painesville officials and Lake County representatives worked to see the project go from the drawing board to the construction zone. Painesville Community Development Director Doug Lewis described the initial meetings.

“Over, approximately, a five-month period, we met and came to an agreement on the layout, design, and materials that would be used in order to protect, preserve, enhance, and take best advantage of the historic character,” he said.

The new administrative offices will work in concert with the current offices located on Main Street. Lake County departments such as the Planning Commission, Sewer, and Water will share office space in the original building, but not before additional renovations are made, including the installation of a new boiler and windows.

All other county departments except the courts, sheriff and title offices will relocate to the new building on its completion in 2019.

Lake County Administrator Jason Boyd explained in an interview that the county was seeking to implement

a campus approach to the departments as a means to condense their departments in one general area.

He said not only will this encourage inter-office collaboration, but also residents will be able to expedite daily errands, such as chasing down permits and signatures, paying bills, and seeking licenses when the multiple city departments are consolidated to a single city block.

The new building will match the five stories of the original and also incorporate historic elements from neighboring buildings throughout the square.

According to a public letter addressing the building, Painesville Councilman Paul Hach said the brick design will mirror that found on the Painesville Methodist Church and feature similar stone slabs to those found on the old Cleveland Trust Bank and the Lake County Courthouse.

The city and county also will work on a Transportation and Streetscape Improvement project to “improve

safety, enhance functionality, and improve the aesthetics of the sidewalks and parking in front of their building,” said Lewis.

Much of the decisionmaking and implementation of the new construction fell to the county’s jurisdiction and their architects, Burgess and Niple. They worked in close communication with Painesville throughout the process.

“Painesville has been a good partner in this,” said Boyd, adding, “it’s always great when governmental bodies can work together for a change.”

Lewis echoed similar sentiments.

“We worked well together and the new building will provide the residents of Lake County with a building that is highly functional and maintains the integrity of the community,” he said. “The City of Painesville is very grateful to the Lake County Commissioners for working with us to implement the first phase of future transportation and streetscape improvements.”