News

Final vote scheduled on $93M courthouse expansion

County commissioners are expected to vote Monday on whether to authorize a four-story courthouse addition. If they say yes, they will green light the most expensive capital project in county history. The projected total currently is $170 million for the combined courthouse-jail project. [FENTRESS ARCHITECTS]

By Bill Moss, Published: March 14, 2026

After years of studies, reports, forecasts on jail and courthouse needs, discussion and debate, the final vote triggering the costliest capital project in Henderson County history is at hand.

Work on a major jail expansion is already under way. If commissioners say yes to a guaranteed maximum price for a four-story courthouse expansion the Judicial Complex Addition and Renovation will total around $170 million, almost triple the current record holder for a major building — the Hendersonville High School renovation and addition.

In a special called meeting at 5:30 Monday evening, commissioners will see the guaranteed maximum price that construction managers have calculated for the courthouse. Project cost for the courthouse in early January stood at $92,951,987. After solicting bids for major contractors, subcontractors, materials and supplies, the construction management team of Haskell-Cooper — made of the global Haskell company and Hendersonville-based Cooper Construction — will present the GMP on Monday.

Barring an unexpected increase in the cost from January, the project would appear to have the support of at least three commissioners. The county commission chair and vice chair — Bill Lapsley and Michael Edney — have been on board for virtually the entire history of the project. Rebecca McCall, who won a third term in the March 3 primary, mentioned completing the JCAR as a priority for her next four years of service. While they have questioned the cost, the two commissioners elected in 2024 — Sheila Franklin and Jay Egolf — have never voiced outright opposition to it.

An attorney who is in his sixth term as a commissioner, Edney has been the board's strongest advocate for the jail-courthouse expansion.

“Is there any practical reason not to go ahead and start with the groundwork?” Edney asked Shaun Bowman, the senior project manager from Haskell, in the Jan. 5 board of commissioners meeting.

“No sir,” Bowman responded.

“And every day we don’t start costs us more money,” Edney added. “Have we seen any red flags or even yellow flags in the market to make us feel uncomfortable about (guaranteed maximum price) 2 and 3 coming up — anything from Venezuela, stuff like that?”

“Not at this time,” Bowman said. “Generally it’s the first quarter where subcontractors and vendors will start sending out notices of material escalation or tariffs. No red flags right now so far.”

Edney said, “So I see no reason why we don’t just keep moving forward.”

There is one X-factor that was not present in January. The U.S. was not at war with Iran, and the main channel through which a fifth of the global oil supply moves was not blocked by the conflict. But the war was also not foreseen in mid-February when contractors and suppliers submitted their bids for the work.