Plans inched forward Monday night for a new federal courthouse after City Council approved an ordinance to abandon North Irvine Street.
While Congress authorized a new federal courthouse in Greenville several years ago, the development made a giant leap forward last year when the U.S. General Services Administration purchased three parcels of land totaling 1.748 acres at East Coffee Street, East North Street and North Irvine Street for a total of $4.07 million to construct the new building. The site is near the current Greenville County Courthouse.
The closing of Irvine Street means that construction can begin after relocation of Greenville Water System lines, which the GSA has agreed to pay for in the ordinance.
“With the securing of the site we now have to wait for Congress to appropriate funds for the courthouse,” said Greenville Mayor Knox White. “While we are high on the list of authorized projects, construction is still several years out.”
City documents say North Irvine Street was a one-way street used primarily for motorists to access the on-street parking spaces on Irvine Street and for a limited amount of cut-through traffic.
The proposed 12-story building will include a circuit library, office space for the U.S. attorney’s office and federal public defender as well as district courts, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. probation offices.
The existing federal building on East Washington Street will house the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Bankruptcy Court and tenants in existing leased space.
The ordinance states that site preparation for the construction of the courthouse shall begin within three years.
