Construction has started on a replacement courthouse for Clackamas County. A ground-breaking ceremony was held Feb. 3.

The original courthouse in downtown Oregon City, built in 1936, is functionally obsolete and can no longer serve the needs of residents, the county stated in a press release. The building also has safety concerns and structural risks. Soil tests revealed the ground under the building, near the Willamette River, could liquefy during an earthquake, the county stated.

No plans exist for the current courthouse, according to the city of Oregon City, but redevelopment is one of the priorities in the Urban Renewal Plan for downtown.

The new courthouse’s location on the 68-acre Red Soils Campus in Oregon City will provide easy access to county resources such as social services, public health, veterans services, and others. The courthouse will stand at 1000 Courthouse Road.

Clackamas Progress Partners, previously named Fengate PCL Progress Partners, was selected to design, build, and maintain the replacement courthouse over a 30-year period. The consortium of companies is comprised of developer Fengate Asset Management, PCL Investments, design-build contractor PCL Construction Services, service provider Honeywell and designer DLR Group.

The partnership was a result of the county’s analyses of alternatives that led to the most cost-effective, lowest risk option. Clackamas County and Clackamas Progress Partners entered a contract for public-private partnership for construction. This project will mark the first time in Oregon state history that a courthouse is delivered through a public-private partnership, the county said.

The 215,000-square-foot courthouse will hold 14 courtrooms, 20 judicial chambers, offices for the district attorney, secure loading and staging areas, improved prisoner transfer facilities, jury assembly and grand jury spaces, safe corridors for courthouse users and secure holding cells for violent offenders.

The design takes a forward-thinking approach to operations, security, technology and sustainability, according to Clackamas Progressive Partners. The interior design vision emerged from consideration of wayfinding, operational clarity, user wellness and trauma-informed design. There will be an abundance of daylight with uninterrupted views of the outdoors.

Brick will be the primary exterior material for all elevations of the building.

The project team is participating in the Oregon Green Energy Technology in Public Buildings program. Systems able to produce at least 25 percent of the building’s energy will be on-site, the city stated. Mass timber will also be used in the building.

The total project cost is currently estimated at $313 million. Construction is scheduled for completion in May 2025.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Crews have set up fencing around a federal courthouse in downtown Portland on Sunday just days after removing the barriers following multiple protests and vandalism on and around the building, authorities said.

Federal officials told Oregon Public Broadcasting that the fencing was removed from the Hatfield Federal Courthouse on March 8 as a symbolic gesture to return the city to normalcy, KOIN-TV reported Monday.

However, the building was vandalized during demonstrations after the fencing was taken down last week.

During summer protests over racial injustice when the fencing was originally put in place, then-Commissioner Chloe Eudaly said the fences blocked a throughway and instituted daily fines until they were removed.

The Department of Homeland Security had been charged millions of dollars in fines from two city bureaus over the barriers but department officials said in October they had no intentions of paying.

The department said the financial penalties imposed by the Portland Bureau of Transportation and Bureau of Environmental Services were unlawful and cited the Supremacy Clause, which states that the federal constitution takes precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions.

The Oregonian reported that the Department of Justice has paid more than $1.5 million to repair damages to the courthouse.

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The $315 million Multnomah County Courthouse project being undertaken by general contractor Hoffman Construction was given a recent burst of color in the form of an elaborate mural adorning one of the job site’s pedestrian walkways. Featuring 86 separate portraits representing jurors awaiting their duty in a courtroom, the mural was designed and carried out by students and staff at Portland’s King School Museum of Contemporary Art. Led by artist Ralph Pugay, the project was dedicated last Thursday during a brief ceremony inside the pedestrian tunnel. In this short video, Pugay explains the design and theme behind the mural. And check the 91ÊÓƵ on Friday, May 18, for the complete story and additional photos of the project in the actual print version of our paper.

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