NEWPORT, Vt. (AP) - The state of Vermont is looking for a location for a new courthouse in the city of Newport.
The plan is to replace the existing Vermont Superior Court building on Main Street and the neighboring Orleans County Courthouse with a new building at an estimated cost of up to $10 million.
Among the possibilities the state could consider are now-vacant lots adjacent to the Superior Court that were cleared as part of a failed redevelopment project, the Caledonian Record reported.
The state posted online a “request for proposals” through a real estate broker and it is generating interest, said Jennifer Fitch, the acting commissioner of Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services.
The new courthouse must be in the downtown.
“We want to make sure we are keeping the courthouse accessible to the community whether walking, hiking or driving your car,” Fitch said.
The previous plan for a hotel in downtown Newport by the developers of the Jay Peak ski resort fell through after authorities said it was part of a Ponzi-like scheme using foreign investors’ money for developments around northern Vermont that led to state and federal criminal charges.
Ariel Quiros, the former owner of Jay Peak and Burke Mountain ski resorts, who was accused of being the mastermind behind the largest fraud case in Vermont’s history, pleaded guilty in August over a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant using tens of millions of dollars in foreign investors’ money. Nine other charges were dropped.
Now Jay Peak, Burke Mountain and the vacant properties on the razed city block are managed by a court-appointed receiver.
The courthouses in Newport have been on the list for major renovation or replacement for years.
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