According to a court press release, the new construction is expected to begin in the summer. This follows the relocation of federal court proceedings in 2017, when the Federal Courthouse was forced to move proceedings due to mold issues. The building has been the subject of complaints since 1992. Court employees have reported symptoms that could be caused by mold, including headaches, dizziness and asthma. According to the Monroe Journal, the court’s administrative office approved funding for a private engineer who would renovate the building. The renovation is expected to be complete in the fall 2020. To upgrade the courthouse, the Tennessee Valley Authority will be working with the U.S. District Court. TVA stated on its website that the project would improve indoor air quality, upgrade the building’s infrastructure, perform lighting upgrades, electrical system improvements, and mitigate water and air infiltration by strengthening the building envelope. The court released a statement saying that other changes were being made to energy conservation projects, including the replacement of lighting fixtures with LED bulbs, electrical transformers replacement, installation of state of-the-art controls systems and upgrades to original electrical system parts. A new vestibule and water filtering system will also be installed as part of the project. The Thomas G. Abernethy Federal Building houses the U.S. District Court of Northern Mississippi. This includes Alcorn, Chickasaw and Choctaw, Clay. Itawamba, Lee. Lowndes. Monroe, Oktibbeha. Prentiss. Tishomingo. Webster. All court proceedings originally planned for the Aberdeen building are held at the Thad Cochran U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse, Aberdeen and the U.S. Federal Courthouse, Oxford.