Christmas came early for Rockingham County, N.H., employees who work for the sheriff's office, county attorney and registry of deeds, as a new $67 million municipal building was completed in time for them to move in before the end of the year.

The 118,000-sq.-ft. structure — located at 94 North Rd. in Brentwood, across from the county jail — is open for business, providing more space, improved working conditions and other benefits for employees and the public, the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester reported Dec. 16.

"This is really something to be proud of" Sheriff's Maj. Chris Bashaw told the newspaper. "We finally have a professional space that represents the work of the people that are employed here. They take pride in what they do and to have a space that actually represents that and allows us to continue [is] fantastic."

The three-story building houses a new and updated sheriff's office and dispatch center on the first floor, county attorney's offices on the second floor and a registry of deeds office on the third floor.

A new community corrections wing, which will be operated by the Department of Corrections and provide mental health and substance use services with a 90-day in-house program, also can be found in the new building. That wing is not expected to begin operating until sometime later next year, according to Rockingham County Commissioner Thomas Tombarello.

In addition to the main building project, the county installed a 8,800-panel solar array behind the structure. The array cost $10 million, but county officials said it is expected to result in significant energy savings.

Designed to meet the unique operational needs of each department while aligning with Rockingham County's environmental and maintenance goals, the building also features a 131-seat auditorium equipped with advanced acoustics, lighting and AV systems for public meetings and events; and a six-bay garage and two-bay sallyport supporting the sheriff's office.

New Building Means More Elbow Room for County Staffers

The push for the new municipal building began amid growing concerns over inadequate space for the county's public-safety operations. Officials voiced concerns about cramped working quarters and poor HVAC systems at the state-owned Rockingham Superior Court on New Hampshire Highway 125.

As a result, they had been leasing space at the courthouse for several years to house offices for the county attorney and registry of deeds.

So, when the construction project concluded, employees from each of those two offices were among the first to move into the new building shortly before Thanksgiving.

While housed in the basement of the superior court building, Rockingham County Attorney Patricia Conway said space was so tight that the department's 20 attorneys and other staff, including investigators, had to share offices.

"People were just on top of each other and it was tough at times," she added while speaking to the Union Leader.

"We're just really thankful to the commissioners and the community for allowing us to have this wonderful space," Conway said. "It really gives us an opportunity to be the best that we can be while doing our job as prosecutors."

Cathy Stacey, Rockingham's register of deeds, and her 11 full-time employees, were understandably thrilled to move into their new digs the week before Thanksgiving.

"We're here, we're open and we're happy," she said. "We've been in the basement of every building we've ever been in. There's a whole open area for the public to utilize to do whatever they need, [like doing research]."

Stacey added that when she and her colleagues were working in the basement of the old building, "half of my staff were in the dark because we were underground. Here we have nice windows and it's bright and sunny, so we're pretty pleased by it."

Downstairs, the approximately 100 employees of the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department also started relocating to their new space the week of Thanksgiving, a move that came 35 years after the office was relocated to the jail in what was supposed to be a temporary situation.

According to Bashaw, the most critical space included in the new sheriff's office that did not exist in the jail building is the addition of a "genuine" evidence room and processing area. Rather, those spaces had been located in old juvenile detention cells.

"We now have a safe place to process evidence that's dangerous [and has] the proper ventilation," he said.

Earlier in December, county dispatchers got their turn to move into new workspaces within the new structure. There, they have 10 dispatch consoles — double the number available in the old building. Nearby is a large room that will serve as an emergency operations room, which Bashaw said would be able to serve the area for the next 40 to 50 years.

The county used $35 million of the $60 million it received in federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to offset the cost of the project. The ARPA monies used by Rockingham County was from New Hampshire's share of the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus bill signed in 2021 to assist with public health and economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tombarello told the Union Leader that the county also received a bond for $25 million even though the delegation authorized the borrowing of up to $30 million.

"We were on budget. We didn't borrow the extra money that we were allowed," he said.

‘Shared Goal of Strengthening Community Services'

Guided by the Rockingham County Commissioners and Jude Gates, the county's director of facilities, New Hampshire-based Warrenstreet Architects Inc. provided a comprehensive menu of services to the municipal building in Brentwood, including landscape architecture and full interior design for each department, noted the New England Real Estate Journal of Norwell, Mass.

The building project, constructed by Harvey Construction of Bedford, N.H., and supported by a team of consultants, engineers and subcontractors, began with a space needs assessment in 2017 before breaking ground at the site five years later.

"Reflective of the county's deep commitment to public service, sustainability and long-term planning, this new facility stands as a symbol of collaboration and dedication," said Caroline Corriveau, AIA, the project architect and co-owner of Warrenstreet. "It was made possible by many hands working together toward a shared goal of strengthening community services."