Iron County receives grant to help restore courthouse
Iron County Presiding Commissioner Jim Scaggs, announced that a $400,000 grant has been awarded to the Iron County Courthouse restoration project.
The Jeffris Family Foundation is a charitable corporation that makes grants for historic restorations and charitable purposes. Iron County owns and maintains the historic Iron County Courthouse. Iron County has proposed a project to rehabilitate and restore the Courthouse and add safety and energy improvements, as described in the historic structure report prepared by Engine House No. 1. The Jeffris Family Foundation and Iron County Economic Partnership (ICEP) provided grants funds to complete the historic structure report.
The total cost of the project is estimated to be approximately $1.2 million as outlined in the grant proposal. The Jeffris Family Foundation has agreed to make a matching grant to Iron County in the amount of $400,000 to fund approximately one-third of the estimated costs required to complete the project. The grant is a matching grant and Iron County must raise at least $800,000 of the remaining estimated costs from the other sources.
“I’m very excited about moving forward with this important project of restoring our historic courthouse,” Scaggs said. “We’ve been working on this project with ICEP for matching funds to complete the necessary structure reports that were required for this grant.
“We are pursuing multiple grants to raise the additional funds to match the Jeffris Family Foundation grant. When we are successful, the entire project will be funded utilizing grant funds. We have a lot of work to do before we can start the project and we must obtain the additional funding within three years.”
The commission is excited to work with the Jeffris Family Foundation, ICEP and the community to obtain additional funding to complete this critical project. Jeffris Family Foundation provides grants to nationally significant buildings in smaller communities of the Midwest and have done two presidential homes.
“I’m extremely proud to be a small part of this project and overwhelmed for the citizens of Iron County,” he said. “Our 1857 Courthouse is the cornerstone of county and with this project, we will be protecting this … landmark and the history of Iron County.”
Iron County has received a substantial grant to help with restoration of the courthouse.
Iron County has received a substantial grant to help with restoration of the courthouse.
