The City Council last night approved the land swap deal between the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency and the Judicial Council of California setting in motion the construction of a new courthouse in Downtown. The RDA land is across the street from the current courthouse in the West Gateway area of Downtown between Broadway and 3rd Street and West of Magnolia was swapped for the land which currently houses the courthouse at 415 W. Ocean Blvd and is owned by the state.
According to the State’s Office of Court Construction and Management, the current courthouse was “built in 1959, suffers from fundamental flaws, is overcrowded, and fails to meet accessibility requirements, making it incapable of meeting the growing demand for court services in the Long Beach area.”
The new 545,000 square foot courthouse will attract over 800 workers, nearly 4,500 daily visitors and will boost the area’s retail with an increase of 9,200 square feet of retail space. The state is expected to decide on a development team for the new courthouse in early 2011 with construction being complete in 2012.
The motion to approve the land swap last night by Councilmember Robert Garcia was preceeded by his effort in early June to rally the local community in support of the deal. Garcia’s letter writing campain generated over 100 letters of support prompting the Councilmember to announce his support.
“The Courthouse project will have a huge impact on our community,” Councilmember Garcia stated in a June 26 release. “And we want to ensure the impact is positive. We want a building that is environmentally responsible, physically inspiring, and well-managed. We want to make sure local jobs are created and public safety protected. That’s why your participation in the commenting process is so important.”
In a September 2008 press release, Mayor Bob Foster said: “This is first in the state of California for a project of this magnitude. Long Beach has found a unique and creative way to maximize our local dollars and enter into a public/private partnership that will result in a new courthouse for our city.”
Naming the new Courthouse
In a statement sent to the lbpost.com on June 26, Supervisor Don Knabe announced that he is in the process of naming the new courthouse in honor of long-time Long Beach resident and former California Governor George Deukmejian.
This morning, Supervisor Knabe told the lbpost.com: “This is another important step in the right direction and I’m looking forward to the day in the not too distant future when we can finally cut the ribbon on Long Beach’s new George Deukmejian Courthouse.”
The Supervisor, in his June 26 statement, noted that support is secured from Chief Justice Ron George of the California Supreme Court, Presiding Judge Tim McCoy of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Presiding Judge Arthur Jean and other judges in the current Long Beach Courthouse. The decision will ultimately be up to the state.
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More Information
Office of Court Construction and Management
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Disclosure: lbpost.com publisher Shaun Lumachi is under contract with the Office of Supervisor Don Knabe.