Replacement Courthouse Project

Our current courthouse is outdated, and was originally designed with a single courtroom and county offices. It has been remodeled countless times to accommodate 11 courtrooms.

Further, it was not built to modern seismic standards, and retrofitting for seismic events is not a prudent decision if it no longer meets the needs of the community. A recent appraisal indicates the building is at the end of its economic life. The building also forces victims of violence to come into contact in hallways with the same people who committed crimes against them. This is intimidating for witnesses and victims, and creates an overall safety issue for all courthouse users.

Lastly, because of the safety issues, the county is requesting half of the construction costs for the new courthouse from the State, creating a one-time opportunity to get this accomplished at minimal cost to the residents of Clackamas County.

Please see the Project Fact Sheet for more.

The 215,000-square-foot courthouse will have:

• 14 courtrooms
• 20 judicial chambers
• Offices for the District Attorney
• Secure loading and staging areas
• Improved prisoner transfer facilities
• Jury assembly and grand jury spaces
• Safe corridors for courthouse users
• Secure holding cells for violent offenders

The new courthouse design integrates into the existing 68-acre Red Soils Campus and takes a forward-thinking approach to operations, security, technology, and sustainability. The courthouse providing full court services will balance public accessibility, building occupant security, operational efficiencies, and the incorporation of proven technological developments, to provide a facility that is functionally advanced.

The courthouse design will embody the ideals of our democratic society through the creation of an image that is permanent, solid, and durable while simultaneously reflecting the transparency that is the hallmark of the American justice system.

The interior design vision emerged from the simultaneous consideration of interior wayfinding, operational clarity, user wellness, and trauma-informed design. The new courthouse design is defined by an abundance of daylight with uninterrupted views providing a powerful connection to the outdoors to support the principles of trauma-informed design by engaging people’s natural affiliation for nature and views.

Plus, by moving to the Red Soils Campus, courthouse users will now only be steps away from departments such as: Social Services; Behavioral Health; Public Health; Juvenile; Veterans Services; and the Family Justice Center. This means that people don’t have to drive all over town to access the various functions of county government, and proximity will improve efficiency and collaboration between these different public service agencies.

• This project will also provide a big boost for the local economy.
• It will create local jobs with competitive wages, and provide opportunities for local labor and businesses.
• Clackamas Progress Partners are committed to hiring local disadvantaged, minority-owned, women-owned and service-disabled-veteran-owned businesses.
• This project also supports the county’s Climate Action Plan.
• The County’s “Performance Clackamas” is looking for carbon neutral operations by 2050, while Oregon’s Climate Action Plan looks for a 45% reduction in greenhouse gasses by 2035.
• Combatting climate change is a clear, stated priority for the County. The courthouse design has incorporated an aggressive decarbonization strategy that minimizes carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions from resource use.
• Carbon emissions have been reduced by 35% as compared to the highly efficient Oregon minimally code compliant baseline. Beyond simply saving annual energy, carbon and energy cost, the courthouse design decreases the County’s exposure to a potentially volatile energy market.
• Design selections made by Clackamas Progress Partners in collaboration with Clackamas County focus on operations, security, technology, and sustainability.
• Best-practices in use of materials, systems and energy efficiency are embedded within the design to attain LEED Version 4.1 Gold Certification, which is the next generation standard for green building design, construction, operations and performance.
• The courthouse project is participating in the Oregon Green Energy Technology in Public Buildings program, which will include technology to produce at least 25-percent of the building energy onsite.
• The use of mass timber adds to our sustainability commitment and will bring an immediate connection to Oregon as community members enter the courthouse.

No. Simply put, we need more space for enough judges and courtrooms — right now we have enough of a population for three additional judges to handle, but we have no space for them or courtrooms, which leads to serious delays in justice.

A new courthouse will:

• Improve safety, as the current courthouse was never designed to have so many courtrooms therefore victims of violence are forced to come into contact in hallways with the same people who committed those crimes
• Create a more responsive and efficient local justice system, greater measures of safety for victims, and increased accessibility
• Place residents steps away from other important co-located services, such as social services, behavioral health, public health, and more.

The county plans to build the new courthouse on the county’s Red Soils Campus in Oregon City by 2025. That will meet projected county needs for the next 50 years and comply with specifications outlined by the Oregon Judicial Department.

Yes. There are two distinct types of juvenile proceedings: delinquency and dependency. The new courthouse will hold both types of court proceedings.

Yes! Rather than being located in downtown Oregon City with extremely limited parking options, the new courthouse will have great access to public transit and ample parking. The county will comply with all Oregon City parking requirements for the campus.

There is nothing in the county’s plans to tear the current building down. Our current position is that the building will become surplus property once the new courthouse is built. There is no intended future use by the county, and the building will likely be sold to a new owner who commits to remodeling and refurbishing the building for new uses.

Clackamas County received $94.5 million in matching bond funds from the 2021 Oregon Legislature, which represented the state’s 50% contribution of funds toward the then-estimated $189 million project. After a competitive bidding process, Clackamas County selected Fengate PCL Progress Partners to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the replacement courthouse over a 30-year period. It will mark the first time in Oregon history that a courthouse is delivered through a public-private partnership (P3).

The county’s comprehensive analyses of alternatives determined that a P3 approach is the most cost-effective, lowest-risk plan. The project will not require any new taxes. The county will make fixed payments over 30 years. The county will own the courthouse during all phases of the project, will not make any payments until the building is ready for occupancy.

Road funds, by law, are completely separate from courthouse funds. Road funds can only come from dedicated road funding sources (state gas tax, vehicle registration fees), and these funds can only go to roads.