Los Angeles County, Los Angeles Long-Range Planning Study

Criteria Architect: AECOM
Fund: General Fund

Seventeen courthouse capital-outlay projects have been identified for Los Angeles County, and the combined estimated cost is more than $6.0 billion. The two largest courthouses—Stanley Mosk Courthouse and Clara Shortridge Foltz Justice Center—need replacement or renovation. The successful implementation of these projects is dependent on the development of a long-range study that identifies a systematic and fiscally responsible approach to minimize adverse impacts on the court program and operations across the portfolio.

Consistent with the operational priorities of the 2019 Prioritization for Trial Court Capital-Outlay Projects,, the long-range study will reconfirm the need to replace existing courtrooms in the facilities affected by the capital-outlay projects identified in the report and for consolidation of caseload based on service demand. Its focus will be on the following two major projects located in downtown Los Angeles and their impact on the development of the projects that precede them: New Downtown Los Angeles Courthouse (replaces the Stanley Mosk Courthouse through possible funding in FY 2029–30), and Foltz Courthouse Renovation (renovates the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center through possible funding in FY 2035–36).

The study will include the phased demolition of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse to confirm that the building can be operational at half capacity while the replacement courthouse is being built on the demolished portion of the site. The sizes of the projects that precede the phased demolition of the Mosk Courthouse will be determined by an appropriate number of courtrooms that reduce calendars/operations in the Mosk Courthouse.

For the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, the study will include the number of courtrooms that can be removed from operation during the renovation and the final number of courtrooms after renovation.

A summary of the prioritization report strategy for capital-outlay projects is as follows:

Two new Immediate Need projects (56 New Courtrooms (CRs)):

• New Santa Clarita Courthouse (24 CRs) – possible funding in FY 2022–23 and provides partial replacement of courtrooms in the Mosk Courthouse.
• New West Los Angeles Courthouse (32 CRs) – possible funding in FY 2023–24 and provides partial replacement of courtrooms in the Mosk Courthouse.

Four new Critical Need projects (139 New CRs):

• New Inglewood Courthouse (30 CRs) – possible funding in FY 2024–25 and provides partial replacement of courtrooms in the Mosk Courthouse.
• New Van Nuys Courthouse: New East Courthouse and Renovation of West Courthouse (55 CRs) – possible funding in FY 2026–27 and provides partial replacement of courtrooms in the Mosk Courthouse.
• Chatsworth Courthouse Renovation (includes 7 CRs build out) – possible funding in FY 2028–29 and provides partial replacement of courtrooms in the Mosk Courthouse.
• New Downtown Los Angeles Courthouse (Mosk Replacement) (47 CRs) – possible funding in FY 2029–30

The other 11 Critical and Medium Need projects are beyond a 10-year funding horizon and do not need to be a focus of the study, except for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Courthouse Renovation and the Foltz Courthouse Renovation projects.

The study is currently in progress and is expected to complete in February 2024.