September 19, 2005

New Federal Courthouse

Plans were unveiled last week for a new downtown Federal Courthouse to be built on Church Street replacing the Federal Courthouse currently on Broadway. The cost for the new courthouse would be $107 million to Federal taxpayers, and that's probably not including the money spent on preliminary planning. The funds haven't been approved by Congress as of yet, but I'm sure that there will be no problem in getting it by Tom "no fat left to cut" DeLay.

Sure, the old courthouse isn't the most beautiful building around (ok, it's ugly), but how is it not serving the current needs of the Federal courts here in Nashville? Maybe the Federal government should keep that $107 million and put it toward other things.

Oh, and they should also keep their our money being spent for the sure-to-be doomed Nashville to Lebanon commuter rail...aka "The Pork Express."

Comments:

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Pork...the other white meat good for carving...not just at Thanksgiving but anytime.

Squeeeeal like a pig!!!

Posted by: Creative Liberty at September 19, 2005 01:50 PM

Actually, the old courthouse is not serving the needs of the community. There are many federal agencies that are forced to rent office space at greater cost from the private sector because there is no room for them at the federal building. It's much cheaper to house them at a federal building than pay for high cost office space in fancy private buildings.

And there is precious little parking for official business, especially since the Fisk Museum sucked up much of it for art lovers.

The new building allows federal agencies that are spread out over the area to be consolidated into the two buildings with the hope of cost savings and improved productivity.

It will also bring in federal employees from the suburbs so that they can add some spending power to the downtown area at lunch time.

Posted by: TWM at September 20, 2005 11:59 AM

What makes you think the rail line is doomed?

Posted by: W at September 20, 2005 01:09 PM

TWM,
It's Frist Center for the Visual Arts. Fisk is a Black University...they may have a museum on campus. Unless there really is a Fisk Museum down town and I have been missing out. Yay!!! Another museum for this art lover.

Posted by: Creative Liberty at September 20, 2005 03:19 PM

Eh, sorry for the typo. I meant the Frist Center.

Different name -- same parking problem.

It's a nice museum either way, but it sucks they took all the parking from people who needed it while working.

Posted by: TWM at September 20, 2005 03:47 PM