Criminal Courts Building
| Owner/Client | Alachua County |
| Location | Gainesville, FL |
| Project Size | 120,000 SF |
| Construction Cost | $18,319,000 |
| Description | Since the first courthouse was built 25 years ago, the population of Alachua County increased by more than 50 percent. As a result a new four-story contemporary structure was built on a six-block site in Gainesville. The building solves a number of problems including space constraints and security concerns at the old facility, which was not equipped to handle the rising number of criminal defendants. The courthouse, which is the first phase of a court complex, includes ten criminal courtrooms, one courtroom wired to the jail for video hearings, and ten judicial office suites with accompanying support space and heighten security. In addition, the building provides five civil and family courtrooms, five large-volume hearing rooms, and eleven family and civil court judicial office suites. Holding cells for defendants were incorporated into the design to minimize interaction with outsiders, providing a more secure judicial environment. The Alachua County Courthouse is the first local government building to have LEED certification, the first county courthouse in the United States to have LEED certification, and the first courthouse in the State of Florida to have LEED certification. This building won awards in 2004 for the Best Public Building (from Southeast Construction) and Governmental Building Award of Honor (from the AIA). |
