Marshall County has signed a purchase agreement with the owner of Jozabeth's, a clothing store in Moundsville, with plans to create a public safety annex in its place.

Jozabeth's has been open for 75 years, but according to the owner, it will close its doors by April 1, 2013.

Marshall County Administrator Betsy Frohnapfel said the county had plans to build the annex behind thecourthouse, but when the opportunity came up to purchase Jozabeth's, county officials realized it was a much better plan.

"It is going to be a larger facility, better working environment. It is going to give us the ability to utilize technology in our 911 Center and Office of Emergency Management that we haven't because of space constraints," Frohnapfel said.

She said the county purchased Jozabeth's -- along with six other parcels -- for $846,000. She said that's much cheaper than starting from the ground up.

"We had preliminary estimates. Those estimates were coming in anywhere between $6 million and $8 million," Frohnapfel said.

She said the county will still need to invest in new plumbing and electricity, along with renovating the inside. Still, it should save about $2 million.

The county has already saved about $6 million for the project, and Frohnapfel said there is no set plan for what will be done if money is left over. However, she said, officials are discussing renovating the circuit court, demolishing the old jail, and possibly putting a YMCA or other center in Moundsville.

The county plans to be operating in the facility by 2013, Frohnapfel said.