Morgan Hill
– Eight years after the city of Morgan Hill teamed up with Santa
Clara County to build a new courthouse, officials say the
long-delayed project won’t be ready until early 2008.
Morgan Hill – Eight years after the city of Morgan Hill teamed up with Santa Clara County to build a new courthouse, officials say the long-delayed project won’t be ready until early 2008.
Bad weather has been blamed for delaying the project for more than a year, but project managers say heavy rains this winter could make things worse.
“The structure is not yet enclosed,” said Ken Rato, manager of the Santa Clara County capital programs department. “If there’s heavy rain, we would put a tarp around the building so plastering could continue. But, it would be slowed down.”
Despite delays, Rato said the $50-million project is still within its original budget. Major projects involve uncertainties, he said, which are factored into building costs.
“The contractor’s making progress,” he said. “We’ve put the roof on the courthouse, paved the north parking lot and put in the storm drain system.”
The project has been under construction since January 2005. It was originally supposed to be finished last August, but developers were forced to move the date back to December 2006. Now they hope “late fall” is a realistic completion date, with up to three months needed after that to install computers and furniture to make the building functional.
The new South County Courthouse sits on eight acres of land near the corner of Butterfield Boulevard and Diana Avenue. The 73,000-square-foot building will hold six courtrooms, jury rooms and an underground holding area for subjects. A second 17,000-square-foot building will house the probation department, public defenders and district attorneys.
A mold outbreak had rendered the old San Martin courthouse unfit, forcing judges to use portables. Meanwhile, the city wanted to avoid a legal conflict with the county over the continuation of its RDA.
City officials have called it a win-win.
“It’s a catalyst for downtown,” said Garrett Toy, director of Morgan Hill’s Business Assistance and Housing Services Department. “And one of the goals was to cooperate with the county.”
The construction project is mostly funded by the county. About $7 million came from Morgan Hill’s Redevelopment Agency to buy the land and defray other costs.
The project corresponds with renovations to Depot and Third streets financed partly by state and federal grants. The goal of those projects is to enhance alternative modes of transportation, including pedestrian and bike traffic around the train station.
The county has provided the Superior Court monthly updates on the building during the lengthy construction process.
“Obviously, they’d rather move in sooner than later,” Rato said. “But they know they’re getting a first class building, so they’re more willing to be patient.”
