Norfolk strikes deal for new $123M courts complex

NORFOLK

The city has struck a deal to build a new court complex for $123 million, replacing the aging and disjointed facilities built in the 1960s and 1970s.

The new complex will house Juvenile and Domestic Relations, General District and Circuit courts under one roof, a city spokeswoman said. Construction is scheduled to begin after Jan. 1 near the present site of the General District Courthouse. The project is expected to be completed in 18 months.

The modern facility is expected to upgrade security and technology, while replacing heavily used and often repaired public buildings. "They're wearing out," said Circuit Court Clerk George E. Schaefer.

The city also found falling construction costs and project bids in the weak economy. The project originally was earmarked for $141 million, according to the city budget. The City Council has authorized borrowing about $92 million to fund the project, according to the budget.

City officials had worried that borrowing another $49 million might have put the city above its self-imposed debt guidelines. In the last five years, the city's debt level has doubled to about $1 billion. City Manager Marcus Jones told the council earlier this year that the city was within all of its guidelines, including limiting debt payments to 10 percent of the city's $793 million general fund budget.

But as budgets have shrunk and borrowing has increased in recent years, that gap has narrowed.

"We have to be careful in the future," Jones said, to avoid exceeding the 10 percent limit.

Schaefer, who has been briefed on the project, said initial plans called for an eight-story building fronting St. Paul's Boulevard. Circuit Court offices are expected to move in 2013, he said. A smaller structure will hold the Juvenile and Domestic Relations courts, he said.

City spokeswoman Lori Crouch confirmed the details. She added that the deal was pending legal and architectural reviews and other administrative approval.

The construction project has been awarded to Archer Western and Heery International.

Schaefer said he understands that the courts are competing with schools and emergency facilities for scarce capital funding. But he said the courthouse represents a vital public building, holding the city's history in its marriage licenses and legal and property records.

And he added, "We don't have to build these things very often."