Engineers have told Harford County Executive David Craig that the county's "Black Box" building at 212 S. Bond St. will be safe to reoccupy after about $64,000 worth of repairs is completed.

Craig's office announced Thursday afternoon that the Hunt Valley-based firm Century Engineering determined employees can eventually move back into the building.

The county does not know yet how soon that will happen, but notes the repairs should not be "cost prohibitive," according to the release.

Century Engineering released a report June 30 saying it performed a battery of inspections and tests after employees first reported cracks and deflections in walls and floors in December 2010.

The building had a number of possible issues. For example, the "levelness" of the floor was found to vary significantly, according to an initial report by McCon Engineering.

Century Engineering said in its report, however, "the building was found to be structurally adequate for the general office use for which it was originally designed. It is not well-suited for concentrated office storage."

Craig said in the press release that he was "pleased" with all the work done by Century Engineering.

"The safety of our employees and general public is of paramount importance," he said in the release.

The costs estimated by the engineer include $11,500 worth of miscellaneous repairs, such as repairing carpet and the council chamber partition wall, and reinstalling ductwork, light fixtures and ceiling tiles.

The 26-year-old "Black Box" has been empty since Jan. 3, when county officials were told the building was structurally unsafe because its floor joists are separating from its steel beams.

More than 70 Harford County government employees, including those from the county council office, public works department and Cultural Arts Board, were reshuffled to other locations.

The county council has been holding its meetings at Harford County Public Schools' headquarters.

The county bought the building at 212 S. Bond St. in 1996 for $1.4 million.

The original predictions, when it was first revealed to be unsafe, were much more dire. Craig estimated at the time a cost of "seven figures, to fix it."

The building was constructed by a private developer, Steve Hankins, who finished it in 1985. Property tax assessment records show the building had two other owners before the county acquired it in August 1996.

In 2010, the 29,025-square-foot building and its site were assessed at $5.1 million, about four times what the county paid for it.