Jun. 30—With the opening of a brand-new office building, Geauga County officials hope to offer residents a single central location to conduct most county business.

The Geauga County Office Building is located at 12611 Ravenwood Drive in Claridon Township, and county officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building on June 24.

According to county Administrator Gerry Morgan, many county offices will move to the 115,000-square-foot facility throughout July. The county commissioners began the moving process on June 29, and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles will follow on July 1.

Other departments that will transfer in the near future include Job and Family Services, the Department on Aging, Veterans Services, the Building Department, the Planning Commission, Community and Economic Development, Water Resources, the Health District, Soil and Water Conservation, Archives and Records and the Auto Title Office, which will move in August and include a drive-through.

"If you have a need, call the agency first to make sure whether you're going to go to Chardon or come here," Morgan said.

He added that the Board of Elections will remain at its current location at 470 Center St. in Chardon until after the November general election, when it will begin the process of moving to the new office.

According to Morgan, any county offices currently located around Chardon Square will stay where they are, including the courts, prosecutor, treasurer, auditor, recorder, clerk of courts and public defender. The county may consider renovations to these spaces.

The county eventually plans to sell the 470 Center St. location, but Morgan said that it will keep the property for now in case it needs alternate facilities during the renovations of offices on the square.

He noted that construction of the new facility started in October 2020 and cost just under $28 million. He added that the project did not require any new taxes.

"Knowing this project was coming, the commissioners were putting funds aside to be able to get that," Morgan said.

The county website notes that previous commissioners bought the property in the 1970s and 1980s.

Morgan explained that the new office is purpose-built, which makes it more compact. For instance, the building has one shared conference room and shared cafeteria space.

County Commissioner Tim Lennon said that the new location is more efficient for both county employees and residents.

As for county employees, Lennon said, "They're going to be able to co-mingle...it's not going to be everyone off in their own corner."

Morgan added, "A lot of departments that work together will be a floor apart instead of miles apart like they are now."

As for residents, Lennon noted that the new location is more centrally located in the county. Additionally, he believes that residents will find it easier to locate offices in the new building.

"In the past, it's been somewhat of a scavenger hunt, you know, to find different buildings," Lennon said.

As an example, Morgan said that "adult services" will be clustered on the second floor, including the adult section of Job and Family Services, the Department on Aging and the Veterans Office. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Auto Title Office will also be located near one another.

Lennon highlighted the cost savings that one purpose-built building will bring, as opposed to maintaining many older buildings.

The new office building is located at what Commissioner Jim Dvorak has previously called a "service campus."

Nearby facilities include the Administrative Branch of the Geauga County Public Library, Ravenwood Health, the Geauga County Sheriff's Office, the Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste Management District's Geauga Collection Facility, the University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center and more.

Morgan noted that there are not currently any expansion plans for this corridor, though he said some residents have expressed a desire for a nearby restaurant or a long-term hotel near the hospital.