$104M Secured for Upgrades to City’s Federal Courthouse

By: Mark Reiter, Toledo Blade
June 3, 2016

The revitalization of a downtown Toledo icon got a big boost from the federal government on Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) announced that funding for the $104 million upgrade and expansion of the historic James M. Ashley and Thomas W.L. Ashley Courthouse has been finalized.

The announcement was made at the beginning of the Civic Center Mall oversight commission’s first meeting in months.

The project for the new 96,000-square-foot annex and modernization of the 1932 building was included in the fiscal year 2016 omnibus spending bill approved in the House and Senate in December.

Miss Kaptur said the funding commitment for the courthouse provides an opportunity for cohesive planning and critical thinking in the Civic Center Mall redevelopment.

“As we consider how the justice space will work, what we wrap around it is really important. In our time and generation, this is our moment to do something extraordinary for the mall and define us as a community,” Miss Kaptur said.

With construction of the federal courthouse annex on track to begin in 2018, the long-dormant committee has been reactivated to work on ideas for rejuvenating the tired and somewhat dilapidated Civic Center Mall.

The commission met Thursday with U.S. General Services Administration architects to begin discussion on improvements.

The timeline for the courthouse project calls for an architect to be under contract by October, with building design completed in 2017. Construction is to start in 2018.

Frank Giblin, director of the urban development program for the GSA, said his office will work with local agencies and tap into government resources on sustainability for the mall renovation as it relates to the courthouse project.

Among the issues put forth in Thursday’s discussion are what do with the seven-acre parking lot on Constitution Avenue now used as parking for city employees, collaborating with the 22nd Century Committee on its efforts for a downtown master plan, and having a transportation area for TARTA buses.

“We think there is an opportunity to do something really special,” Mr. Giblin said. “This is the start of a conversation.”

U.S. District Judge James Carr urged the commission to incorporate plans for long-term care and maintenance to assure the mall doesn’t fall into disrepair again.

“It is an eyesore out there. It is a shame,” he said.

Mr. Giblin said the planning process will include a multiday workshop in the summer to work on a vision for the mall development.

A new federal courthouse had been planned for the mall’s north end. It even got to the point that a contemporary building was designed for the site. However, the project was dropped after the GSA put construction of all new federal courthouses on hold.

In 2011, when plans were still hopeful for a new courthouse, the Civic Center Mall oversight committee was created to breath new life into the mall, which runs behind city and county buildings near the federal courthouse.

The committee, which includes 10 members appointed by the city and 11 from the county, was told to develop ideas to improve the area.

Members include federal, common pleas, and municipal court judges, court staff, architects, county commissioners, city councilmen, sheriff’s and police officers, and veteran group leaders.

The mall is the site of numerous monuments and public works of art, including the War Memorial recognizing fallen heroes from the Lucas County area.

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