Health concerns prompt move for Hennepin County public defender's office
by Burl Gilyard Staff Writer
The Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office is leaving the William McGee Building in downtown Minneapolis. The building has lead paint, which has begun to peel above the dropped ceiling. (Photo by Bill Klotz) |
Early last week, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved a five-year deal to lease 63,237 square feet of space at the 701 Building, 701 Fourth Ave. S, starting this fall.
According to the Hennepin County Board’s action, the county’s rent for the space for the first year is about $1.2 million.
The county, which previously approved money for the relocation project, estimates that it will also spend an additional $670,000 on relocation costs and up to $468,000 for improvements to the space at the 701 Building.
The public defenders will be leaving the William McGee Building, 317 Second Ave. S., for good.
“We’re hoping to be moving furniture in October,” said Lenny Castro, chief public defender for the county. “It’s a very positive move for us. It’s closer to the Government Center and the city’s attorney’s office, the county attorney’s office — it’s a real positive thing.”
Castro said that while the paint did not pose an immediate health threat to employees, it did raise concerns in his office.
“The county did not ever attempt to hide the ball, they were very open. I would say that some employees had some genuine concerns,” Castro said. “[But] nobody that I know of was impacted by the lead paint.”
Issues with lead-based paint surfaced last year at the William McGee Building, formerly the Western Union Bank Building.
Castro said that the space at the 701 Building is meant to house 137 employees, including about 70 attorneys, on floors 11 through 14 of the tower.
The new digs
The new deal will make Hennepin County the largest tenant in the 701 Building. The lease represents more than 20 percent of the space in the 280,000-square-foot tower.
When Dallas-based Cawley Partners bought the building in April 2007, the 1980s-era office building stood roughly two-thirds empty. CH 701 LLC paid $15.3 million for the property.
The local office of CB Richard Ellis took over management and leasing of the 701 Building at the beginning of this year.
The 21-story building, which dates to 1983, was designed by noted architect Helmut Jahn and features an atypical hexagonal floorplate.
Judith Hollander, director of property services for Hennepin County, said that the county has not yet decided what to do with the McGee Building.
For now, the county’s Probation Reporting Center will remain on the first floor of the building for another year, Hollander said. The public defenders are on floors two through eight of the building.
