Board OKs Juvenile Courthouse Project
A proposed courthouse for juvenile offenders moved forward Tuesday when the Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved $15 million for construction.
Plans for the 56,200-square-foot building call for six courtrooms, judges chambers and staff offices. It is scheduled to be completed in June 2004.
The courthouse will be one of three buildings in the Juvenile Justice Complex being constructed on five acres of a former strawberry patch in El Rio, near Oxnard.
Work on a 420-bed detention center is underway at the site. An administrative building also is planned.
The goal is to pull all of Ventura County’s youth justice operations into one area. The total project will cost about $65 million, to be paid for with state and county funds as well as fines collected in court.
“It’s a giant leap forward and will make a difference in the lives of countless children who are going to spend time there,” Ventura County Dist. Atty. Greg Totten said.
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