The quandary is no more: Multnomah County's new courthouse will snuggle up next to an "oasis in the heart of the city” … or maybe it will snuggle up to the shell of what was once Veritable Quandry.

The Multnomah County Commission this morning approved the county’s preferred site—a county-owned, vacant chunk of land near the Hawthorne Bridgehead—as the new location for the $250 million courthouse.

“This is a big day,” says Assistant County Attorney Ken Elliott.

Elliott, in his presentation, reiterated last week’s statement that there were no deal breakers for either site, leading the project team to go with their first choice.

No one from the public showed up to testify the decision, despite the fact that VQ owners say it could be the death of the 45-year-old restaurant.

The only testimony provided that could be described as anything but jubilant came from Commissioner Loretta Smith. She says she wants to make sure that all services provided in the current courthouse location are accommodated in the new building.

"We need to make sure that we have enough money to do the same services that we're doing now and put them in the same building," Smith says. "I'm wedded to making sure that we bring over everything that we have in the courthouse today into the new courthouse. I'm not a big fan of having other leases outside."

Whether you're a fan of the chosen site or not, the commission had the final say and will move forward. Next, the county will issue a request for proposals for architects and engineers and a request for proposal for a construction manager/general contractor. Planners have said they hope to have the courthouse open for business in 2020.