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Among Oregon counties hoping for state money to help pay for new courthouse construction, Multnomah County is sitting in an enviable position.

Multnomah was one of the first counties recommended to receive money made available in 2013 through the passage of Senate Bill 5506; it created a program offering 50 percent matching bond grants for counties looking to replace aging courthouses with new structures. But before Multnomah County courthouse construction can begin, steps must be taken.

The project is slated to go before the Portland Design Commission for advice during the group’s Thursday session. The commission has set aside approximately two hours to speak with designers, who will then use feedback to prepare the project for formal design review.

Even as architects refine the courthouse design, the county will work to drum up its share of money to pay for the new courthouse. Originally, it was expected to cost $250 million. The state entered an agreement to provide $125 million for the project.

The county has since decided to move additional offices into the new courthouse, which will bump up the project cost to $300 million, county spokesman Mike Pullen said. The state, however, is holding firm on the amount it agreed to provide, so the county now will have to raise $175 million for the project.

The state Legislature earlier this year agreed to let counties raise money for new courthouse projects by adding a $5 surcharge to traffic and parking violations. In order to set up the surcharge, it must be approved by the county circuit court presiding judge and then be approved by the Oregon chief justice and chief court administrator. Multnomah County has taken steps to get that approval and hopes to implement the surcharge in 2017, Pullen said.

The county also is moving to build a pool of firms and labor (with an emphasis on minorities and women for the latter) for the courthouse construction, even though ground isn’t expected to be broken for at least another year.

The flurry of private and public construction in Portland has increased the difficulty of finding sufficient tradespeople, especially women and minorities. For the county’s Sellwood Bridge project, for example, the county and the project contractor were able to hit goals for firms certified as minority-owned, women-owned and emerging small businesses as well for minority journey workers and apprentice representation in the labor pool. But the project team came up short of its goal for women journey workers and apprentices in the labor pool, Pullen said.

To try to avoid a similar problem with the courthouse, Multnomah County and the project team recently held an informational meeting to begin connecting with minority- and women-owned firms and emerging small businesses. The county and the project team also are working with Constructing Hope, Oregon Tradeswomen and similar groups to begin building a workforce of journey workers and apprentices for the project.