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Marion County wants to know exactly what led up to the structural problems that have plagued the Courthouse Square building that once held its offices in Salem.

The agency is seeking a company to investigate the past of the 10-year-old, $34 million building, so structural problems that led to its closure won’t happen on any new projects, said Dave Henderson, Marion County’s business services director.

The study is not intended as a precursor to any new lawsuits, added Jolene Kelley, a spokeswoman for the county.

“At this point with litigation, what’s been filed is pretty much where we are, and this isn’t that,” Kelley said. “The purpose of this new investigation is really to find out what happened. We want a good, clear handle on how we got to where we are today.”

The study will be a sister document to a report that will analyze what is needed to fix the building. That report, estimated to cost about $1.5 million, is due to be finished next month, Kelley said.

“Solutions might involve demolition or repurposing of the structure,” she said.

Tenants of the building, which opened in 2000, vacated in September after the structure was declared “dangerous” and the attached transit mall operated by Salem-Keizer Transit was declared “imminently dangerous” by the city of Salem.

Things have grown even more dire since September, Henderson said.

“The bus mall has been deemed in danger of imminent collapse,” Henderson said. “The danger is a punching sheer failure, where the weight of the floor slab could punch through the supporting column.”

That means the floor at any time could drop over the support like a melting Popsicle sliding off its stick, he said.

Some parties involved in the project have already settled lawsuits with the county and the transit agency. This past summer, contractor Pence/Kelly Construction agreed to pay $900,000, five subcontractors agreed to pay a total of $269,000 and Arbuckle Costic Architects Inc. agreed to pay $695,000.

A $1 million lawsuit with Century West Engineering, the project’s engineer, is still in mediation, Henderson said.

However, $2.8 million is not a big payback for a building that cost $34 million to construct. The county and transportation group also had a $29 million insurance claim, but Henderson said that has not been resolved yet.

Structural problems first appeared in 2002 and grew progressively worse as the young building aged.

A document on the city’s website explains one pronounced incident on July 16 that eventually led to the early eviction of all tenants for safety reasons:

“The morning of July 16, 2010, a loud noise, described as an explosion or loud banging, was heard on the second, third and fourth floors of Courthouse Square. Employees on the second floor also reported feeling the floor vibrate. County and transit officials immediately called engineers. It was determined that the noise and vibration were likely, although not conclusively, caused by a ruptured post tension cable on the second floor,” according to a Frequently Asked Questions segment.

County offices forced to leave the building have moved to several locations across Salem. The relocation itself cost $930,000 for planning, tenant improvements and equipment, Henderson said.

Leases for new offices cost $2.2 million, he added.

“We signed three-year leases on all of our properties,” Henderson said. “We did not think we’d be able to get back in there before that.”

The county released its request for proposals for the forensic investigation on Nov. 29.

The document describes issues with the structure that “have resulted in damage to building finishes – including significant interior cracks, deformation of ceiling systems, uneven floors and door and window openings racking and jamming, as well as structural deficiencies in the parking garage.”

Proposals are due on Dec. 23, and a mandatory pre-proposal walk-through at the building at 555 Court St. N.E. will take place Wednesday at 9 a.m.

The county expects the investigation will take 60-90 days, Henderson said.