COLUMBUS, OH -- An official ceremony held today in Athens opened the new southeast district office of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). The new office is located at 360 East State Street, the site of ODNR's previous district office, and houses satellite operations of the ODNR divisions of forestry and wildlife.
The $2.6 million project took more than two years to complete and includes a 19,000 square foot office building, a 5,100 square foot garage and expanded public parking. It also includes a laboratory, classrooms and an enlarged conference room that can be used for after-hours meetings. The garage houses a law enforcement communications center, personnel lockers, a vehicle wash bay and boat storage -- as well as fish management and wildlife education facilities.
This new, expanded headquarters for our district office allows ODNR to better serve residents of southeast Ohio, said Sam Speck, ODNR director. Activities of our divisions of forestry and wildlife are growing in the region, and this new facility will allow us to better meet our growing responsibilities.
ODNR solicited public input on the project more than three years ago. The agency found building a new structure was more cost effective than renovating the previous 7,000-square-foot facility. A pond, located at the front of the property, remained intact.
ODNR's new district office serves a multi-county area of southeastern and southern Ohio.
Panich, Noel, Dawson and Associates of Athens drew the plans and served as consulting architects for the new building. Wesan Construction of Rutland built the facility.
For Further Information Contact:
Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265-6860
-or-
Carol Wells, ODNR Division of Wildlife
(740) 594-2211