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Plans to keep the Multnomah County Courthouse at its current site in downtown Portland have been scrapped, a county spokesman said Monday.

“The county has ruled out the renovation of the existing site and rebuilding in the same location,” Communications Officer Hank Stern said.

The decision was made by county commissioners more than a year ago because a new courthouse would be cheaper, more efficient and not disruptive to ongoing court functions, he said.

The fate of the 100-year-old courthouse building will be determined later, he added.

Efforts are under way to find a new courthouse home and determine a financing option, Stern said.

“Technically, it could be (located) anywhere,” he said. “Realistically, a lot will be determined by the size of the courthouse, configuration and what’s available.”

An extensive programming analysis by the National Center for State Courts is determining facility size and operations for the next 50 years, Stern said. The courthouse presently houses the District Attorney’s office, civil and criminal trial activities, family court and the state’s largest legal library.

Meanwhile, Vancouver, British Columbia-based Partnerships BC is performing a business case analysis looking at different ways the project can be financed, Stern said.

The studies should be completed by summer, with county commissioners making site selection and funding decisions by October, he said.

The 2019 target date for opening a new courthouse means commissioners have time to determine what will be done with the existing courthouse when operations are moved, Stern said.

“Everybody here is cognizant of the site’s historic nature, but it’s premature to say what that site would be converted into,” he said. “The county will review that option when the time comes.”