Hamilton County commissioners voted to approve the purchase of Mercy Health's headquarters in Bond Hill Tuesday.
The acquisition totals $95 million, but Mercy Health and its parent company, Bon Secours, agreed to contribute $30 million to the sale to facilitate the termination of its current lease, bringing the total cost to the county to $65 million.
A deposit of around $2.4 million will be held in escrow before ultimately going toward the purchase.
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The agreement includes a 60-day inspection period where the county can examine the mechanics and structure of the building before the sale becomes final. The deposit is refundable during these 60 days.
Hamilton County will use the building to house Job and Family Services, Developmental Disability Services, Public Health, Environmental Services, Veterans Service Commission, and the Office of Addiction Response.
The purchase is expected to lower Hamilton County's overall operating costs because several county agency offices are located in older buildings and require more maintenance. The Mercy Health headquarters is newer, having been constructed in 2016.
Commissioner Denise Driehaus says beyond the projected financial savings, the newer building is in a better location for many people who use county services.
"As much as I like to think Downtown is accessible to people, I recognize not everyone agrees with me on this," Driehaus said. "We've got a facility in Bond Hill that is actually more central in the county to the residents of the entire county. It's on a bus line and it has free parking."
Once the agencies move into the new building, the county will request bids for its older buildings including the Alms & Doepke Building Downtown, which was constructed in the 1870s and currently houses Job and Family Services.
The county will use money from the General Fund to pay for the building upfront but it plans to use money generated from the sale of its older buildings to cover the entire cost.
The sale is expected to become official Nov. 30.
