Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Fort Lauderdale site for new courthouse chosen
For everyone who has endured the flooding, tight quarters and other inconveniences of Fort Lauderdale’s downtown federal courthouse, relief is finally coming into view.
Over the holidays, the U.S. government selected a longawaited site for a replacement when it agreed to spend $13.5 million for nearly 3.5 acres south of the Tarpon River in Fort Lauderdale. It’s in an area bordering Southeast Third Avenue and Southeast 11th Street.
The site selection, which was nearly two decades in the making, is expected to trigger millions in new commercial and residential development near the Broward County Courthouse complex, business leaders said.
“We’re very appreciative of the support that we’ve received from the South Florida congressional delegation and their recognition of the need of a new courthouse for the citizens of Broward County,” Chief U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore said by phone on Tuesday. “It’s an
important step to acquire the site, and we know there’s still a long way to go before we are able to put a shovel in the ground.”
Another chief judge, Laurel M. Isicoff, who oversees the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, was a little more succinct about the need for new place to administer federal justice.
“Everybody remembers that video of it raining in Judge [Lurana] Snow’s courtroom,” she said. “Because of mold problems we’ve had times where the district court clerk’s office has been in the bankruptcy court clerk’s office.”
Not all of the courtrooms are accessible from within the building. To get from one to another, people must walk outside, at times getting drenched during rainstorms.
“It was just not a good building,” Isicoff said. “Overall, it’s going to be a good move.”
It will take close to another three years, though, to start construction with an anticipated completion date of early 2026, according to the website of the General Services Administration, which oversees all federal construction projects.
No design plans have been made public.
But according to the GSA’s website, this is what the pubic would get for $191 million allocated by Congress in 2018:
Twelve courtrooms and 17 judges’ chambers.
Space for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which is based in Atlanta and covers Florida, Georgia and Alabama,
Space for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Two of the Southern District’s bankruptcy judges preside in Fort Lauderdale.
Offices for the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Probation Office.