By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG — It’s been the subject of not one but two public meetings in less than 30 days plus a ton of local social media chatter but when it comes to the subject of a “new judicial center” in Moore County, Mayor Sloan Stewart says some locals are “putting the cart before the horse.”

During the April Metro Council meeting, Greg Guinn proposed the idea of Moore County purchasing the former Ed’s BiRite Building located at 755 Fayetteville Highway in Lynchburg.

The late Ray Tucker and John Manis of the Lynchburg Winery purchased the building located in 2022 for $380,000. It’s currently zoned for commercial use. The lot in question is .61 total acres and interior space is listed as 5040 square feet.

“Currently the property is for sale at $459,000 and I think as a Council we should make an offer, albeit nowhere near that,” Guinn stated.

Guinn went on to explain that he thought the property acquisition would be forward thinking since the historic Moore County Courthouse is currently ADA non-compliant ؎ forcing elderly and disabled citizens to seek special accommodations when accessing the legal system here in Lynchburg. Guinn stated that Manis was a motivated seller and that he thought the property might be a good fit for future projects like a space to be used for court proceedings if the county decided to move in that direction.

“We’re eventually going to have to do something, and structurally that building is in really good shape,” Guinn told his fellow Council members. He also stated he felt that the infrastructure already in place – water lines, sewer lines, three-phase electric as well as the asphalt – would be worth making an offer, regardless of the condition of the building. He further stated that it would be hard to purchase unimproved land and add water, sewer, and electric infrastructure plus a quarter acre of asphalt for that price.

Guinn explained that there were American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds available to allocate to the purchase – meaning that the property could be bought with money on hand.

“I believe the drainage project at the Moore County Jail came in under budget,” Guinn explained. “So those ARPA funds could be an option as well.”

During open discussion, things quickly went off the rails as members shifted from the question at hand, “would the purchase of 755 Fayetteville Highway be a good investment for taxpayers” to a discussion about the pros and cons of building a “new judicial center,” which was the main use Guinn mentioned the property might be a good fit for in the future.

That’s when member Shane Taylor asked to amend the existing motion for discussion and instead send the question back to the Metro Building and Grounds Committee for further review.

“I think the motion on the table was to start discussion, but I’d like to amend the motion to send it back to the building committee … and have them report back in 30 days with a number for this board.”

Back to the Metro Building and Grounds Committee

Two weeks later during an April 29 Metro Building and Grounds Committee meeting, the conversation continued to focus mainly on the judicial center with members of the Council and the public suggesting everything from voluntarily removing the Moore County Courthouse from the National Register of Historic Places and “gutting it down to the studs” to cutting a hole in the ceiling to install a wheelchair lift.

The Moore County Courthouse was built in 1885. It serves as the center of the Lynchburg Historic District and currently houses the offices of appointed and elected officials like the Mayor, County Clerk, Register of Deeds, and Assessor of Property downstairs as well as the Moore County Courtroom, Circuit Court Clerk, and other judicial officials upstairs.

The April 29 meeting ended with committee members agreeing to a $300,000 offer. Metro officials will approach Manis with that offer if the amount is approved by the Metro Council during their May 20 meeting.

An asset regardless of use

However, in a conversation The Times had with Mayor Stewart he stated that all the conversations seemed to be somewhat putting the “cart before the horse.”

“When I was approached about the potential purchase, they asked me what kinds of things that building could be used for and I mentioned a court facility as a future project,” he explained. “It could be used for anything – a Head Start, a rec center. I think the question is: could this property be of value to Moore County in the future.”

Mayor Stewart went on to explain that like Guinn, he saw more value in the location and the infrastructure than the actual structure.

“At today’s prices, it would probably cost close to $200,000 just to put that much asphalt in place,” he said.

He’s correct. At its current cost of around $7-$13 per square foot, the estimated cost to asphalt just half of the .61-acre lot would be $91,476 to $169,884.

In the end, Mayor Stewart said he thought the building would be a shrewd investment and an asset to Metro Moore County regardless of its ultimate use.

Though the agenda isn’t yet finalized, we feel certain the 755 Fayetteville Highway property will be a topic of discussion at the next Metro Council Meeting. That meeting will take place on Monday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion Building. To be heard during the public comment section of the meeting, contact Mayor Stewart’s office before 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting. His offices are located inside the Moore County Courthouse or he may be reached by phone at 931-759-7076. •

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