LAWRENCEVILLE - The Gwinnett County Commission has decided to postpone expanding the county courthouse because of the county's financial situation.
Commissioners voted on Tuesday to reject all nine proposals submitted for the project and move it back for consideration next year.
The expansion plan calls for an addition of about 200,000 square feet and a multilevel parking garage for approximately 1,000 vehicles. The addition is intended to support judges' chambers, deliberation rooms and other functions.
Steve North, the county's director of support services, says the delay will move the project back about a year. Construction on the building originally was scheduled to begin in December, with completion set for April 2013.
The county, like other local governments around the country, continues to suffer from budget shortfalls brought on by the recession.