After exiting closed session, the Habersham County Commission voted to sell the old Habersham County courthouse to the city of Clarkesville during Monday’s commission meeting. They also approved a contract for the demolition of the building.
The commission approved the sale of the property for $1,000,000. The contract price for the demolition of the old courthouse was approved not to exceed $190,000.
However, the votes were not unanimous. Commission Chairman Jimmy Tench was the only dissenting vote on both motions. He has stayed consistent with not wanting to sell or redevelop the old courthouse. He has expressed in the past that the county should keep the property for additional office space as the county grows.
The old courthouse has sat vacant since 2019. Commissions, past and present, have been trying to decide what to do with the property since 2016.
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Over the past four years, developers have shown interest in the property. However, those deals never seemed to work out. Most recently, Parkside Partners entered into an agreement to purchase the property for $500,000 through a partnership with Habersham County Commission, the Development Authority, and the city of Clarkesville.
That deal trudged along for several months until Parkside eventually backed out of the agreement last September due to inflated construction costs.
Last month, Clarkesville publicly offered the county $250,000 for the property and would pay the cost for the demolition. The county countered that offer and would agree to sell the property to Clarkesville for $1,000,000 and the city be responsible for the demolition. Clarkesville accepted the county’s offer to purchase the property during the council’s February meeting.
Monday night’s approval solidifies the fate of the old county courthouse. It could be demolished as soon as 60 days.
