The Madison County Commission is getting closer to buying property for a new service center.

Madison County Commissioner Dale Strong says the county plans to purchase the vacant land at the intersection of Oakwood Avenue and North Memorial Parkway. The land is now cleared but was previously a grocery store. 

The service center would house the tax assessor, tax collector, probate judge and others. The new building would help free up space at the Madison County Courthouse.

Buying the property will move forward on July 14th and soon after the design process will begin.

"That piece of property has been blighted for more than 20 years, it's not been utilized and yet has sat there. But that's what we thought, that we could revitalize this area with this type of construction and I think we can do a very good project with the budget we have," said Commission Chairman Dale Strong. 

The property was appraised for $3.5 million but the commission is buying it for $3.1 million.

Construction is expected to take up to 18 months once the design process is complete.