A consulting company told the Polk County Board of Supervisors this morning that acquiring the Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Mulberry Street would be the best first step toward expanding the county’s court facilities.

Gordon Griller of the National Center for State Courts outlined a scenario that would include purchasing the Wellmark building — which will be left vacant when the health insurer moves to its new headquarters on Grand Avenue – upgrading the Polk County Courthouse, renovating the old jail for courtroom use and constructing a Juvenile Court facility at the court system’s Hull Avenue campus.

A second scenario changes only the way the old jail would be renovated. Scenario No. 3 leaves out the Wellmark building and instead relies on renovation of the Polk County Convention Complex at Fifth and Grand.

Polk County owns the Convention Center, so using it would eliminate purchase costs. However, National Center for State Courts architect Nathan Hall emphasized that renovation of the Convention Complex would require “a huge investment.”

All three scenarios are broken into phases and wouldn’t be completed until 2030.

County Administrator Ron Olson said his staff will bring financing options to the board for consideration.