After more than a decade of planning, Pinellas County is moving forward with a new North County Service Center designed to replace an aging facility officials say has struggled to meet residents’ needs for nearly 20 years.

Project Details

The $51 million project will consolidate the offices of the Tax Collector, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Property Appraiser into a single, three-story, nearly 80,000-square-foot building in Clearwater. The campus will also include a three-level, 140,000-square-foot parking garage with 384 spaces and backup power to ensure county services remain operational during emergencies.

County commissioners are expected to consider a reimbursement resolution that preserves the county’s ability to finance the project with future tax-exempt bonds. The vote would not authorize construction or issue debt.

Planning for a replacement dates back to 2014, when county officials first began studying the idea of bringing the Tax Collector, Property Appraiser and Clerk of the Court together under one roof. Five years later, the county expanded that concept into its broader “One Stop Shop” strategy, designed to make government services easier to access by consolidating multiple constitutional offices in one location.

The existing service center no longer has enough space to house all of the county services residents use, forcing the county to lease additional office space nearby. Eliminating those leases accounts for most of the estimated $800,000 in annual savings once the new building opens.

Benefits and Timeline

The project will also improve the customer experience by allowing residents to complete multiple government transactions in one stop instead of visiting separate offices. The new facility is anticipated to reach substantial completion in January 2028 – earlier than previous projections.

Original reporting: St. Pete Catalyst — read the source article.