The addresses for two Delaware County buildings will change as of Jan. 1, 2019. The Delaware County Courthouse’s address will change from 110 N. Sandusky St. to 117 N. Union St., and the Rutherford B. Hayes Administrative Building’s address will change from 140 N. Sandusky St. to 145 N. Union St.

“We’re not moving, but we are changing addresses,” said Jane Hawes, director of communications for the Delaware County Board of Commissioners. At the board’s request, the City of Delaware authorized the change earlier this summer.

The new addresses, Hawes explained, reflect the fact that the easiest way to access either building is from entrances facing North Union Street. Parking lots also are situated closest to North Union Street. Changing the addresses will make it easier for online mapping tools to help drivers and pedestrians find the buildings.

The original addresses reflected the fact that the lots on which each building had been constructed bordered Sandusky Street, downtown Delaware’s main thoroughfare. But, because of the east-facing hillside into which the structures were built, parking lots could only be built along North Union Street, and the main entrances were designed to face the east as well. The Hayes Administrative Building opened in 2002. The Courthouse opened in 2017, replacing the historic Courthouse at 91 N. Sandusky St., which is being renovated and is slated to reopen in 2020 as an executive administration building.

As part of the changes, Marshall Court — an alley between the two buildings — will be closed permanently to vehicular traffic.

“It’s a safety issue as much as a wayfinding issue,” said Jon Melvin, the county’s director of Facilities Management. “If people are going to use the North Union Street addresses now, it’s better if they use only the main grid of streets in the area to navigate there.”

For more information about Delaware County, please go to www.co.delaware.oh.us.