This is just another example of how mistaken our 3 commissioners were in their decision concerning the Lowes building . 2 voted to do a study of the Lowes property.
Guilford County schools have voted to purchase a building to relocate all of their central office staff into one large building. They will be selling 5 different office buildings currently used by their staff.
They stated that it is far more cost effective to buy this building, formerly the Lorillard headquarters, than "constructing a comparable new facility." They also used the example of city of Wilmington paying $ 183 per sq foot for a $68M building compared to what Guilford county schools are buying at $66 per sq foot.
As a comparison, the new building that 3 Wilkes Commissioners voted to build is for a 45,000 building at a cost of $490 per sq foot.
The Lowes Building is 10 times the size of $490 per sq ft building and the Lowes property would have cost $16 per square foot.
It was fully furnished with office equipment. Renovations would have been needed, like putting up walls, but with the difference between the $7M and the $22M for the new building, they would have had $15M left for those renovations. Plus they would had 50 acres of land and half of the building left to lease out.
All of the county government departments could have been located together. I have heard that this is not what county officials wanted.
Exactly why? Do some departments feel superior to other departments?
The $490 per sq ft building is only one building. And their plans are to also build another one and to remodel the old county office building. So can you just imagine the cost to taxpayers?
I feel that they made a huge mistake that taxpayers and even their grandchildren will be forced to pay for.
