In the Fall of 2009 Plymouth Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved the purchase of the 1820 Plymouth County Courthouse and Commissioners Building in the heart of the downtown/waterfront district. The $1.4 million purchase was made with a grant from the Community Preservation Committee. The Board of Selectmen, in turn, leased the property to the Plymouth Redevelopment Authority (PRA) to oversee its preservation and adaptive reuse.

To assure public input and oversight for this project, the PRA, an independent public agency, created an advisory group named the 1820 Courthouse Consortium. This nine-member body, representing a broad spectrum of interests and expertise, began its work by identifying a specific set of goals, as outlined in their Mission & Goals statement. These goals include both the preservation of the Courthouse and its possible integration into a broader mixed-use development called the Courthouse Corridor.

In June 2010 the PRA and Courthouse Consortium issued its first Interim Report. This report spells out both the goals and strategies needed to preserve and adaptively reuse the 1820 Courthouse property. It also contains a history of the property and other relevant information. The Interim Report is available on this website.

As the Consortium and PRA’s work proceed, there will be many opportunities for public participation. The 1820 Courthouse Consortium, together with the Plymouth Redevelopment Authority, look forward to working with the people of Plymouth and others to make the Courthouse once again the economic and symbolic anchor of a renewed downtown/waterfront district.