COUNTYWIDE : Supervisors OK Court Expansions
As part of its long-range goal of relieving severe crowding, the county Board of Supervisors approved two major court expansion projects Tuesday, one in downtown San Diego and the other in Vista.
On a unanimous vote, the board hired a firm to design and build a $58-million complex that will add 16 courtrooms downtown. Plans also call for the offices of the district attorney, the county grand jury and the Probation Department to be in the 11-story building.
The project, called a “new Hall of Justice” by county officials, will be linked to the existing 30-year-old downtown courthouse by way of a pedestrian tunnel or bridge. Plans call for groundbreaking in one year, with occupancy scheduled for the beginning of 1996.
A second project will add 10 courtrooms to the North County Regional Center in Vista.
The supervisors hired a development company to design the courthouse expansion over the next year. The Vista project is the first phase of a 20-year plan that envisions replacing the existing courtrooms and adding new ones for a total of 84.
Tentative groundbreaking on the 10-courtroom expansion is scheduled for spring, 1994.
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