New Bucks County Justice Center Moving Closer to Finish Line

The new Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown is set to open mid-January 2015, officials told reporters during a tour of the under-construction facility on Friday.

The roughly $87 million building will house 520 county workers and thousands upon thousands of visitors who have to do business with the close to one dozen departments that will move from the current courthouse to the new justice center, which sits about 100 yards apart.

Officials are calling the 285,000-square-foot building “state of the art” and mentioned many of its high-tech features Friday. Some of the high-tech features include televisions that display what is happening the building and a variety of multimedia tools in each courtroom. Tools that are currently not in every courtroom in the current courthouse.

Jerry Anderson, the general services director for Bucks County, said security is a key part of the new structure. Some high-ranking county officials will be able to use a 21-spot indoor parking lot. The building will feature about 300 cameras and multiple secure entry points in a lobby that features radiant heating.  The Justice Center will also feature separate elevators and hallways for transporting prisoners, 20 holding cells,  a sally port for the sheriff’s department, mesh in the ceilings of the holding cells and better fire safety equipment.

Offices will have motion controlled lights that the county expects will save on energy costs. Anderson told reporters geothermal heating and cooling was not feasible for the site.

Outside the structure, a covering will lead from the parking lots and garage to the Main Street entrance. Commissioner Charley Martin said handicap parking close to the building should benefit those who need it.

Officials proudly showed off portion of the 1909 Armory complex that was saved during construction. Anderson showed the grand fireplace, which now will sit in a cafeteria.

Delays pushed the planned opened to early 2015. Anderson and a county spokesman noted the delays were mainly due to a land dispute with a local bank and weather issues that arose.

Since the media was first invited inside the building in late 2013, the structure has grown and portions of the building already have carpets. Anderson showed off one of the buildings 13 new courtrooms, which range in size. There is room in the building for officials to expand and add more courtrooms and office. Anderson said the building is a “100-year facility.”

The highlight of the tour was the sixth floor. Reporters were led into a conference room with curved glass that looked out at Doylestown. In a room that eventually be the office for a county judge, a small balcony provided a view that shows the heart of Doylestown and the skyscrapers in Philadelphia.

Anderson said the project is about four percent over budget.

The county is currently working on plan that reuse the old courthouse. The plan involved remodeling current courtroom and turning them into offices for county offices.

Related:

• New $86.5 Million Courthouse Project Moving Along