In April, the city of Hamilton broke ground on the construction of a new 64,000-square-foot singe-story Justice Center complex on Hanover Street across from the Butler County Jail. The mostly debt-financed $32 million project will be led by Monarch Construction Company, who will be using steel sourced by Matandy Steel and manufactured by JN Linrose.
The steel being produced by Matandy and JN Linrose will not be on site for a few more weeks, however. The structural I-beams that have been used thus far are red iron steel, a heavier material not produced by Matandy and JN Linrose.
The Justice Center will be the new home of the city’s police department and the Hamilton Municipal Court. The agencies will move from South Front Street and One Renaissance Center, respectively, likely in either August or September of 2024.
The building will reduce duplicated services needed when the municipal court left South Front Street to the then-new confines of the Government Services Building more than two decades ago. This move will save Hamilton upward of $300,000 annually.
“We take a lot of pride in being part of local projects that are going on,” said JN Linrose President Matt Pfirman. The Hamilton Justice Center, which the construction cranes can be seen from their back lot, have been involved in a number of projects, including with Spooky Nook and Community First Solutions.
“I think it’s a big thing for our employees to drive past and say, ‘That’s something that I made,’” he said. “They can show it to their family and friends. It’s a source of pride for us.”
JN Linrose manufactures light-gauge metal framing for the construction industry most everywhere East of the Mississippi. But Pfirman said it’s especially important to be involved in Hamilton projects because “it’s important for us that we want to be part of the resurgence.”
Most of the employees live in the city, if not born and raised here, and that’s an important reason, Pfirman said, why they want to be involved in projects.
“One of the things we want to do is to reach out to those people and try to get involved from the get-go because this is our backdoor, and we want to be part of that resurgence and make sure they’re using our material versus having it shipped in from someplace else,” he said.
But the pride isn’t a one-way street. City leaders are equally proud of having a home-grown business being involved in local projects.
“It’s extremely important to use as many local businesses as possible to support our community,” said Public Safety Director Scott Scrimizzi, “but it’s very special to me that we are able to use Matandy’s steel because they do so much for our community.”
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