Pinellas County officials have been discussing for years if they should move their headquarters out of the outdated campus in Downtown Clearwater. Now, the possibility of a move is higher than ever. On Thursday, county commissioners gave approval for staff to pursue consolidated offices in the Central Pinellas area.

The decision will be transformative if the county decides to move. The county has operated from Clearwater, which holds the county seat for over a century. The move will also open real estate that could be crucial pieces to the redevelopment of the Downtown Clearwater area.

Commissioners made the approval based on a report by consulting firm CBRE. It allowed staff to settle on a suitable site, do more detailed designing of the facility, and pin down costs and a timeline. The final cost to move headquarters is estimated to be between $263 million and $334 million, which would need further approval by the commission before final decisions are made.

Much of the downtown campus dates to the 1970’s, and the Pinellas County Courthouse was built in the early 1960’s. Maintenance to repair and renovate the building would cost the county around $145 million, and commissioner Dave Eggers called the buildings “functionally obsolete”.

The move would allow the county to downsize their footprint from 580,000 SF across over a dozen buildings, down to 317,000 SF in three buildings, according to the report done by CBRE. The county spends $4 million a year on maintaining the current buildings, and downsizing will cut this number in half. The ideal location for a move would be between U.S. 19 and Ulmerton road, which was pegged the population center. Currently, there are no existing usable buildings larger than 150,000 SF so if the county wants to move forward with relocation, they will need to buy land and build on their own.

Acreage of potential sites for relocation will have a lot to do with the final cost. Estimates are driven up assuming the new headquarters will require a parking garage. Cost per space is around $30,000. If the county buys land with space for a surface parking lot, then the cost will be driven down.