A retired union bricklayer and current Geauga County Commissioner laid the first block on the $15 million expansion of the Geauga County Courthouse.

The 22,000-square-foot expansion will more than double the size of the three-story county building.

The original construction of the Geauga County Courthouse began in 1868 and was completed in 1870. Now, the building is undergoing a much-needed expansion to meet the needs of a growing county and increase security.

For Jim Dvorak, who joined what was then Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 16-Ohio in 1973, it was an honor to lay the first block on the expansion project as it was one of his highest priorities as a county commissioner.

A 1972 Grand Valley High School graduate, Dvorak spent four decades in the masonry industry, including time in the Ohio-Kentucky Administrative District Council’s marketing position.

Dvorak was also an instructor in the 1980s through the Auburn Career Center and served for 30 years as a trustee for the Ohio Bricklayers Health and Welfare Fund.

He retired in 2012 and spent the next few years as a Burton Township Trustee. He was appointed Geauga County Commissioner in 2019.

Since then, he has worked tirelessly to get projects done and move the country forward – especially when it came to the courthouse expansion.

After weeks of attending projects meetings, Dvorak was surprised when contractors asked him to lay the first brick on May 24.

“For me, being a second-generation bricklayer, it was historic,” Dvorak said. “Working on the expansion of the courthouse, something that hasn’t been done in over 100 years, is important to the county and the city of Chardon.”

To make the addition blend in with the current courthouse, he noted that the new stone panels will come from the same quarry used during the original construction.

“My catchphrase is, ‘Geauga County is where history meets the future,’ and this courthouse is a prime example of that,” Dvorak said.

The courthouse expansion is expected to be completed in late 2025.

While the project will not be done under any type of labor agreement, most of the trades affiliated with the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council are expected to be on site at some point over the next 18 months.