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A new courthouse for Benton County is in the works.

The building, including district attorney鈥檚 offices, will be the first constructed on the new 29.53-acre Community Safety and Justice Campus one mile north of downtown Corvallis, next to the HP Inc. campus. Other proposed buildings (though not yet approved by voters) for the county campus include a correctional facility, a sheriff鈥檚 office, and an emergency operations center.

The property was selected by the Benton County Board of Commissioners in 2022 after an 18-month process in which the community was engaged. The county purchased the property for approximately $5.5 million.

DLR Group began designing the three-story, approximately 44,000-square-foot courthouse in fall 2022. Benton County Public Works is managing the project. Hoffman Construction is the construction manager/general contractor.

The project鈥檚 cost estimate is $50 million. The state is providing a 50 percent matching grant to cover much of the cost, and the county is expected to issue bonds to pay for the remainder.

The Benton County Courthouse, constructed in 1888, is the oldest county courthouse in Oregon still being used for its original purpose, according to visitcorvallis.com. The building is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It also lacks separate circulation paths for the public, staff, and in-custody defendants, as well as a jury assembly area.

鈥淭he current courthouse, including (the district attorney鈥檚 offices), is 27,000 square feet,鈥� said Lori Coppenrath, a DLR Group principal in charge of the project.

In addition to being ADA-compliant, the new courthouse will have separate circulation paths and a jury assembly area for about 100 people. Judges鈥� seating areas will be raised, with ramp access. There will also be 14-person jury spaces as well as separate gallery spaces and jury deliberation spaces.

Judges鈥� chambers will no longer be associated directly with courtrooms but will be a more collegial suite adjacent to the courtrooms. Public defenders will have space to meet and work between cases. A window counter for people to pay fines, file paperwork, or receive information will be included in the lobby area.

The courthouse will include staff security features and a metal detector.

The district attorney鈥檚 space will be the southern portion of the first floor. The approximately 9,000-square-foot space could need to expand in the future, so the design will account for that posssibility.

鈥淎 separate staff parking area (will be) behind the courthouse,鈥� Coppenrath said.

A secure building entry for staff will be separate from one for the public.

To the north of the courthouse, a vehicular sally port will allow secure transfers of in-custody people to and from vehicles. They will enter through the in-custody circulation path and take the elevator directly to the courtroom floors.

The building鈥檚 exterior will be brick and glass. A three-story atrium at the public entry will be composed of clear glass, providing transparency for justice mentality, Coppenrath said.

Construction is scheduled to begin in January or February 2024 and finish in spring 2025. The new courthouse is scheduled to open that year.

Last month, Benton County voters rejected Measure 2-140, which called for issuance of bonds to pay for multiple projects, including a correctional facility ($64.3 million) and a sheriff鈥檚 office/emergency operations center ($40.4 million).