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Skyline shifting as buildings razed
Demolition to wrap up in March
Town WEB
Downtown Cumming looked different Wednesday, top, than when demolition began Jan. 14, bottom, at the site of a new courthouse. - photo by Jim Dean
The skyline in downtown Cumming looks different these days now that buildings and a parking deck in the square have come down.The demolition on the site across from the Forsyth County Courthouse is making way for a new justice building.A small building in the Forsyth County Detention Center parking lot also has been razed to prepare the site where the new jail will be built adjacent to the existing facility.The new courthouse and jail projects were approved by voters in November 2011 as part of a special purpose local option sales tax, or SPLOST, program.The demolition is on schedule to wrap up in March and the process has gone “smoothly,” said Forsyth County spokeswoman Jodi Gardner.“Everything’s on track,” Gardner said. “I’m not aware of anything unexpected they’ve encountered or anything out of the ordinary.”Forsyth County commissioners awarded the demolition bid to Industrial Facilities Solutions of Gainesville in January for $385,000.Gardner said the site will also be cleared to prepare for construction.A schedule for the project states that construction is anticipated to begin in July and take about 18 months.Since the closure of the parking deck on Dec. 28, temporary parking locations have been established around town.Jurors, traffic court visitors and others doing business at the current courthouse should use the parking lot at Maple Street and Castleberry Road.Parking areas for both the public and county employees can be found at the County Administration Building.Additional parking from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays for the public and for county workers includes marked spots at Cumming Baptist Church.A map of the parking locations is available online at www.forsythco.com.