Renovation of Tulsa County Courthouse could prove costly

TULSA, Okla. — Tough choices await the Tulsa County Commissioners in the wake of this week’s new assessment of estimated costs to renovate the aging Tulsa County Courthouse.

On Tuesday, the county commissioners got their first glimpse of the potential price tag for repairing the aging facility which dates back to 1955. The County paid for an assessment report by an outside engineering firm.

The facility’s administrative offices were added in 1974. Cosmetic upgrades were made to the offices about two years ago.

While costs estimates for renovating the courthouse range from $55 to $73 million, presiding County Commissioner Kelly Dunkerly said a renovation could end up costing closer to $100 million.

At first glance, the façade of the Tulsa County Courthouse looks like any average older government building.

Upon closer inspection, however, sections of marble on the building’s exterior are missing, which has created problems on the inside.

“The exterior of the building needs to be totally replaced and that’s because there’s quite a bit of water damage, quite a bit of leakage, compromise to the structure,” Dunkerly explained.

A quick walk through Friday afternoon revealed stained ceiling tiles,

courtroom windows covered in paper to shield jurors from the sun, and old elevators.

“The elevators tend to have a problem working,” said MJ Denman, an attorney who is in the building almost daily. “Sometimes you’re isolated to one elevator, that’s extremely frustrating during a jury week.”

Renovation work would also need to include equipment and electrical upgrades, as well as fire protection upgrades and making the building more ADA compliant.

“Whether it’s a replace, whether it’s a repair, whether it’s a different building, somewhere close to this facility downtown, or other locations we need to look at all of those,” Dunkerly said.

The other issue is funding. While Dunkerly said the county has about $27 million in ARPA funding, they will be looking at other potential federal funding sources.

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