Justice Building expansion costs rise

COEUR d’ALENE — The $24 million in federal funds that Kootenai County commissioners set aside last year to expand the Justice Building in downtown Coeur d’Alene won’t be enough to cover the entire project.

The estimated cost of the expansion — which would add three courtrooms and facilities for the Sheriff’s Office, district court employees, prosecutors and other county staff — has grown to more than $30 million.

Commissioners tentatively agreed this week to move ahead with the expansion, pending finalized designs and pricing expected to be delivered in August. The county is expected to pay the difference between the American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated to the project and the final cost.

“I think the project is necessary and probably five years overdue,” Commissioner Leslie Duncan said Tuesday. “I would still like to pursue this.”

Last week, Kreg Shelby and Scott McGlocklin of Bouten Construction presented commissioners with current cost estimates, as well as options for where some costs might be reduced.

The original plan — a 60,000-square-foot building with four levels — would cost about $35 million to construct.

A second option, estimated to cost around $29 million, would remove the top floor, the space intended for the Prosecutor’s Office. A $24 million option would remove the top floor, further reduce the building’s footprint and reduce exterior design elements.

The second and third options did not appeal to commissioners.

“I really have heartburn about taking the top floor off because that sets us back quite a bit,” Duncan said.

Though Commissioner Bill Brooks has acknowledged the need for space in the Justice Building, he has strongly criticized the project as too costly. Last year, he pushed for the ARPA funds to be spent on two unfinished dormitory pods at the Kootenai County jail.

“I’m not happy with the building at all,” Brooks said. “Haven’t been from the beginning. I’m not happy with the way the ARPA funds were dispersed, but I seem to be the only person who has a problem with that, so I will go along with it. But I’m telling you, the money keeps creeping up and up and up.”

Federal guidelines forbid using ARPA funds to expand jail capacity in response to an increased crime rate or need for physical distancing.

In its report, the Kootenai County ARPA Task Force said the additional Justice Building facilities will enable the court to fully address the case backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, Kootenai County has more judges than courtrooms, which has created scheduling challenges.

Ken Gallegos of Lombard Conrad Architects said the increased cost of the expansion is due largely to the rising price of materials. Even if design elements are stripped back, he said, the cost would remain about the same unless the square footage shrinks.

“There’s nothing really fancy that’s going on in this building as far as extraneous design,” he said. “We’re not gold plating anything whatsoever.”