County Purchases Land For New Administrative Building

Oconee County Commissioners decided Tuesday night to purchase 7.63 acres just outside of the northern boundaries of Watkinsville for a future administrative building.

The planned new facility will house the non-judicial government functions currently located in the Oconee County Courthouse in downtown Watkinsville and at the Oconee County Annex on Greensboro Highway on the south of Watkinsville.

The new 60,000-square-foot building will be at the intersection of U.S. 441 and Macon Highway across Macon Highway from Fire Station 1.

The vacant land is owned by Jacobs Properties LLLP of North Augusta, S.C., and assessed at $227,517, according to county tax records.

The Board of Commissioners, at the end of an executive session on Tuesday night, decided to pay $650,000 for the property. The money will come from the unspent portions of the 2004 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.

The county says it has no timetable for construction of the building or movement of the county functions to the new location.

For more details on the land purchase, please go to Oconee County Observations.