PERRY, Ga. — Over the past 200 years, the building where the original Houston County Courthouse sat has gone through a number of facelifts.
Its latest renovation is turning the property into the new Perry City Hall.
Mayor Randall Walker is thrilled about the future of his city.
"We're very excited!" he said. "If you're sitting over in the event center holding city council and you get to come to this kinda chamber, it's very exciting."
Previous to the renovated courthouse, City Hall operated out of the city administrative building on Washington Street, about a half-mile away.
Assistant City Manager Robert Smith says he hopes the new location will allow the community to continue to foster growth in the fastest-growing city in Houston County.
"We're hoping the new city hall has a symbiotic relationship with downtown businesses," he said. "We hope that bringing this building back to life drives foot traffic for our downtown merchants and downtown restaurants."
Beyond bringing to life foot traffic, Walker says it also brings to life a building that hasn't had much activity within its walls.
"The last thing that we wanted was to have a vacant building sitting in our downtown area that could support the business and the public for the services that we offer to them," Walker said.
According to the City of Perry's Senior Communications Manager Tabitha Clark, the new Perry City Hall will include a number of different city services.
Moving forward, it will house the Perry Welcome Center, the Main Street Program, economic development, mayor and council offices, city clerk and the municipal court.
"The decision was made that we would move our Municipal Court here and make it a multifunctional room to also be used as our council chamber," Mayor Walker said.
"It's a beautiful space that can be utilized for a lot of things," President of the Perry Area Historical Society Ellie Laudermilk said.
Laudermilk has lived in Perry for over 50 years and hopes her community continues to come together where Georgia comes together.
"I am thrilled that the city bought it and that will be the city hall and it will still be the center of business for the town of Perry," Laudermilk said.
Perry City Hall is located at 808 Carroll Street in Perry.
According to the city, the phone numbers for each office remain the same; you can find contact information here.
Other City services are offered at the following locations:
Perry Administration Building (1211 Washington Street)
- Customer Service
- City Manager
- City Attorney
- Communications
- Finance Department
- Human Resources
Perry Planning, Engineering, & Building Services (741 Main Street)
- Planning & Zoning
- Building Services
- Engineering Services
- Code Compliance
- Inspections
- Fire Marshal
Public Safety Building (1207 Washington Street)
- Police & Fire Services