COUNTY TO LEASE 400 MAIN FROM PLATTE CITY
There will be a new, temporary use for the former City Hall at 400 Main Street in Platte City.
The City of Platte City has finalized a lease with Platte County for the former city facility, which was vacated when the city relocated to the new City Hall in November of 2023.
Platte County will be leasing the building to use it for judicial services and a courtroom while the nearby Platte County Courthouse undergoes renovation work.
The county will pay the city a monthly rent of $1,500. Tom Cole, city administrator for Platte City, says the $1,500 will more than cover all associated utility costs of the facility.
“Of note, the county is also contributing funds toward the renovation of the facility for use as a community meeting space,” Cole added.
In the city’s 2024-25 budget year, Platte City intends to renovate the former City Hall into a planned use as a community meeting facility to accommodate small events and groups.
Cole said architectural drawings have yet to be bid out by the city. The city’s eventual renovation of the facility is expected to require a 60-90 day construction schedule.
“We believe we can accommodate the request of the county and complete the renovation within the budget year,” Cole said. The city’s budget year runs through Oct. 31, 2025.
The lease is to run through June 30, 2025. Cole said city staff believes the county can utilize the facility while architectural and engineering work for the city’s renovation are being completed.
In the event the county has not vacated the building by June 30, an amendment in the lease will escalate the amount of the lease payment from $1,500 to $4,500.
“We understand that there is an opportunity cost to Platte City and should the county need to utilize the space for a temporary courtroom past the lease terms, we would need to execute a new lease rate at $4,500 per month,” Wes Minder, administrator for Platte County, wrote in a letter to Cole dated Dec. 11.
“We greatly appreciate the partnership with the city on helping us improve the county courthouse by letting us utilize the City Hall, and also our parks partnership grant to convert the space (at 400 Main) to a community room,” Minder said in his letter.
The building at 400 Main Street was originally home to the Platte City Post Office, until a new facility for the post office was constructed in the late 1980s on Hampton Drive near the intersection of Hwy. 92 and Marshall Road.
After the post office vacated, in 1989 the City of Platte City purchased the building and moved its operations from a small City Hall building at 212 Main to the 400 Main location.
The building at 212 Main is now owned and occupied by Wegner Realty.
