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~ What is Courthouse Square? Marion County, in partnership with the Salem Area Transit District and the City of Salem, is redeveloping the Senator Block in downtown Salem. The Courthouse Square project will allow Marion County to replace office space currently located in four downtown buildings, one on Lancaster NE, and continue moving county offices out of the Courthouse to allow room for the courts to expand. The project will provide a centralized, off-street transit mall for 22 buses for Salem Area Transit. At project completion the downtown site will include a five-story office building, under- ground parking, and an off-street bus transit mall. The office building will house both Marion County and Salem Area Transit staff and should adequately cover expansion requirements for both organizations for the foreseeable future. The objectives of this project are to: • Provide the county with needed office space • Replace the existing High Street bus mall with a new 22-bus transit center • Relocate transit administrative offices downtown for easier accessibility to the public • Develop an attractive downtown government and retail service center • Provide off-street parking to meet the needs of the project Bacl~ground: In the late 1970s, the Senator Block was identified by the city as a preferred site for a new transit center. In both 1984 and 1989, the county and the transit district recognized the opportunity for joint public/private develop-ment of the block. Approximately $7 million in federal funds, plus local matching funds, have been earmarked exclusively for the new transit center. A citizens' panel in 1995 reaf-firmed the Senator Block as the best site for the new transit center. Marion County has been searching for inno-vative ways to consolidate county departments, replace and/or remodel existing county office space and move out of the Courthouse to provide more room for expansion of the courts. The county/transit partnership makes it possible for Marion County to use Certificates of Participation (C.O.P.s) to finance its portion of the project. By using C.O.P.s, the county builds equity in the project and derives revenue from public and private leases to pay off the C.O.P.s/revenue bonds over a period of 25 years. The City of Salem has earmarked up to $2 mil-lion in urban renewal funds for streetscape improvements for the Courthouse Square project. From December 1997 through April 1998, a Special Project Oversight Committee met to evaluate the project. The oversight committee found that the county and the transit district should proceed with the project. The project is currently under construction. Construction is scheduled to be completed by October 2000. The Courthouse Square partnership pools resources, is efficient and returns federal tax dollars to the community. The Partnerships: Courthouse Square offers an opportunity for public agencies and private business to enter into a joint venture in downtown Salem. The project will be developed and managed as a mixed-use facility (via a lease-hold condominium). Building space is currently allocated as follows: County offices 103,000 sq. ft. Transit offices 22,000 sq. ft. Retail 3,400 sq. ft. Leased office space 13,000 sq. ft. 141,400 sq. ft. In addition to the office building on the south side and the transit mall in the center of the block, private development will be invited on the north side of the block. A solicitation for proposals (RFP) will be published later this year.