“The dream of a joint solution to Fort Wayne’s and Allen County’s space needs through co-location just died,” a somber Mayor Tom Henry said in a hastily arranged news conference Thursday afternoon.

But who killed it? City and county officials identified vastly different culprits.

“We are co-located now, and what frustrates me is that the city has leapfrogged over a sound decision, because Renaissance Square is grossly too large,” said County Councilman Paul Moss before the seven-member body voted unanimously to cap the county’s contribution to co-location efforts at $3 million – enough to find a new location for the Sheriff’s Department but millions less than required for any of the options that have been discussed for the past several weeks.

As a result, Henry said just a couple of hours later, the city will unilaterally proceed with the $14 million plan to move most of its offices into the now-vacant Renaissance building at 200 E. Berry St., as previously approved by City Council. The move will affect most city offices now in the City-County Building, as well as Fire Department operations now on East Murray Street and police headquarters, now in an antiquated office building on Creighton Avenue.

But Moss and other Council members said the need for a larger and more modern police headquarters – often cited as the city’s most pressing need – illustrates the higher-than-necessary cost of co-location options that had been supported by Henry and some leading county officials.

The city police currently occupy 36,000 square feet and say they need 80,000 square feet, Moss said, noting that Renaissance Square contains 250,000 square feet. By contrast, noted Councilman Darren Vogt, the Sheriff’s Department requires only 22,000 square feet and could be provided, somewhere, with cash already on hand.

Although county officials originally hoped they could reach a deal that would allow them to share space with the city in both buildings without adding to current expenses, subsequent studies estimated the actual cost could be as much as $5 million more – and that didn’t include the cost of moving and new furnishings.

A far better solution, Moss suggested, would have been for city, and perhaps county police, to move into the Regional Public Safety Academy on the site of the old Southtown Mall – a $37 million, 132,000-square-foot facility that Moss said is underutilized. Other vacant buildings could also meet the city’s needs, he suggested.

But Henry, who earlier this week vainly urged community leaders to lobby County Council on behalf of co-location, said those buildings did not meet the city’s needs. And the academy, he said, “doesn’t belong to Fort Wayne.”

With the exception of emergency communications and land-use departments, Henry said he expects other city offices now in the City-County Building to move, meaning the city will be able to keep most of the $1.2 million in annual rent it pays the county – money that will help pay for the new building.

“I believed a joint solution was achievable and did everything in my power to realize that dream,” Henry said. “The County Commissioners indicated the same . . . But when one door closes, another opens, and for the city that door leads to 200 E. Berry St.”

Henry said planning for the move will begin immediately.

The county, too, will review how best to use space in the City-County Building vacated by the city. Will that $3 million be used to renovate space there for Sheriff Ken Fries’ department? Can a deal be negotiated with the city to lease space for the sheriff in Renaissance Square? Will a new sheriff’s building be built? Other downtown buildings owned by the county could be sold, with their offices moved to the City-County Building – moves that might even enhance cooperation between county departments and convenience for customers.

But separating most city and county departments “will make us less connected as a community,” Commissioner Bill Brown lamented.

But, in a statement, the three Commissioners said they “will continue to explore opportunities for collaboration with the city in ways that benefit all citizens of our county.”