Site purchase completed for new Stanislaus County Courthouse

Escrow has closed on the purchase of the downtown Modesto site for the new Stanislaus County Courthouse, according to an announcement Tuesday by the city, Stanislaus Superior Court and the Judicial Council of California.

The roughly 31/2-acre site includes the city block bounded by G, H, Ninth and 10th streets. Portions of the 13-parcel site were previously owned by the city of Modesto; the other parcels were privately owned.

“The new courthouse site was chosen for its close proximity to freeway access, public transportation and the downtown business core,” said Brandi Christensen, the Superior Court’s facilities support services manager, in a news release. “Completion of site acquisition allows the project to proceed into architectural design, which is expected to take approximately two years. The State Public Works Board approved the purchase of the site on Nov. 14.”

The 26-courtroom, approximately 301,000-square-foot courthouse will replace seven court facilities in Modesto, Ceres and Turlock. Consolidating the facilities will allow the court to centralize operations, improve public access, increase efficiencies and improve security, Christensen said. “With all court services under one roof, the new courthouse will become a one-stop location for county residents.”

Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2017, with an expected completion date of 2019, subject to change, Christensen said. The Judicial Council, which manages the project, has engaged the architecture firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, to design the courthouse.

More information on the project can be found on the California Courts website at www.courts.ca.gov/facilities-stanislaus.htm.

The land purchase has been working its way through the state’s review process since spring, which was when Modesto’s City Council approved the agreement.

It’s a complicated deal, involving six private landowners, plus 53,500 square feet of land and an alley owned by the city of Modesto.

Modesto’s council agreed to buy all the privately owned properties for about $4.5 million and then to resell the entire block – including the city’s lots and alley – to the state Administrative Office of the Courts for $5.45 million.

The agreement also requires the city to remove and relocate all the utilities running through the block’s alley. The state will withhold $367,000 of its purchase price until that work is complete, which must be by April 1, 2016.

The block’s current tenants will have to move out by the end of 2015, and they will be given $685,000 to cover their relocation costs.

Until then, the city will be responsible “for all costs related to such occupancy of the subleased premises, including but not limited to maintenance, utilities, repair, risk management, insurance and security, “ the state report explains.

This story was originally published December 23, 2014 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Site purchase completed for new Stanislaus County Courthouse."