Site Finalized for New Civil Courthouse in Menifee

for release

Contact: <a href="mailto:peter.allen@jud.ca.gov">Peter Allen</a>, 415-865-7740

December 22, 2015

Site Finalized for New Civil Courthouse in Menifee

Site Finalized for New Civil Courthouse in Menifee

SAN FRANCISCO—The State Public Works Board has approved the acquisition of a site in Menifee for the new Riverside Mid-County Civil Courthouse from site owner Regent Properties. The new courthouse will be located on 3.8 acres in the Menifee Town Center and will be a part of the City’s envisioned future government center.

“Much of the recent growth in Riverside County has been in the mid-county region, badly straining the courthouse in Hemet,” said Harold W. Hopp, presiding judge of the Riverside County Superior Court. “This new facility will help us to increase access to justice, particularly for family law and civil cases.”

The site was chosen because of its central location within the county’s growing population center where filings continue to rise, the reduced cost of the property, and access to public transportation and Interstate 215. Completion of site acquisition, expected by July 2015, will allow the project to proceed into architectural design, scheduled to take approximately two years. The Judicial Council, which manages the project, has engaged the architecture firm of Perkins + Will to design the new courthouse.

The new Mid-County Civil Courthouse will house nine courtrooms in over 89,000 square feet and replace the aging Hemet Courthouse. It will improve public access, increase efficiencies, and provide greater security for court visitors and staff by providing enhanced security screening and separate circulation for those in custody. The new courthouse will continue to handle civil, family law, probate, small claims, and traffic cases, providing a modern, secure civil courthouse for the residents of the mid-county region.

Construction of the new courthouse is currently scheduled to begin in 2018, with an expected completion date in 2021, subject to change. Ranked as an “immediate need” in the judicial branch’s capital outlay plan, the new courthouse is among the branch’s highest-priority infrastructure projects. More information on the project can be found on the California Courts website at: www.courts.ca.gov/facilities-riverside-hemet.htm

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