CASSOPOLIS – The fate of the historic Cass County Courthouse is still up in the air after a new proposal was made to the Cass County Board of Commissioners in mid-August. The brick landmark in downtown Cassopolis was built in 1899 and has been vacant for more than a decade.
Commissioners had come into the Aug. 17 meeting expecting to vote on whether to sell the courthouse to a private developer or keep it in county hands. That vote was postponed for at least a month after Cass Economic Development Corporation board chairman Troy Clay made his proposal during the meeting.
County officials and community members have been talking about the courthouse’s future for several years, but more formally since last October when the first of a number of town hall meetings started being held. A community discussion held in May crystallized the differences between those wanting to sell and those wanting to preserve the building.
Clay attended that May meeting and said earlier this month that he found it to be productive as people on both sides agreed they wanted to see the building preserved and renovated as well as have it spur economic growth in Cassopolis which is the county seat.
“What if there is a middle ground?” he asked. “What if there could be a process or entity where we continue to beautify the building, put it to use and spur the renewed development of downtown Cassopolis.”
He suggested that the county let the Cass County EDC work out a plan with the Cass County Land Bank which would relieve the county of the burden of the courthouse and spur economic growth and development at the same time.
“The EDC can immediately start working on grants to preserve the building and fund upgrades in a historical context,” he said. “We could also find tenants to provide revenue to sustain the restoration of the building and provide money for other development in town.”
Clay asked for and received a consensus from the majority of commissioners to start developing a plan to present to the board in late September or early October. He said he wants to sit down with the full EDC board, the land bank, the county and interested residents to work on a plan that people can agree on.
The courthouse building is located at the intersection of Broadway and State Streets in downtown Cassopolis. Several administrative offices still are housed in the building adjacent to the courthouse, although the county courts were moved to a new building on M-62 more than a decade ago.
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