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LAKEPORT, Calif. — After a decade and a half of delays and financial challenges, the construction of a new courthouse in Lakeport is about to begin.
The Lake County Superior Court reported that the working drawings phase of the new Lakeport courthouse project is now complete.
With that key phase finished, the drawings for the project will soon be submitted for final permits, court officials said.
That will clear the way for construction, which court officials said is anticipated to begin this summer — pending environmental regulatory approval.
The new $83.8 million facility will be built at 675 Lakeport Blvd.
The Judicial Council of California purchased the site in 2010 for $1.1 million following what the agency said was “a lengthy site selection process,” which included input from justice partners, local government and the public.
The new building will include four courtrooms, a jury assembly room, self-help center,
attorney/client meeting rooms, and on-site parking with solar generation. Court officials said it will be a safe, secure and fully accessible building, with 45,300 square feet of space.
The main court facility in Lakeport is now located on the fourth floor of the courthouse at 255 N. Forbes St. There, the courts have 15,332 square feet; they also lease a separate space for records storage.
The crowded conditions at the Lakeport Courthouse placed the need for a new courthouse in the Trial Court Capital Outlay Plan's “Immediate Need Project Priority Group” in 2009.
Since then, the project hit headwinds due to the financial impacts of the Great Recession, which stalled many such projects.
However, in 2019 it was placed back at the top of the courthouse project list, and has continued to rank at the top of the statewide list of projects most in need of replacement based on significant overcrowding, security concerns and accessibility challenges.
Also on that list, at No. 6, is a new courthouse for the city of Clearlake.
The Superior Court reported that the project originally was approved in the 2021-22 fiscal year budget.
If construction is underway this summer, the Judicial Council said the project is anticipated to be completed in early 2026.
The Judicial Council reported that Lakeport’s new courthouse project is the first in the construction program to utilize the design build method, which calls for one entity, the design build team, to work on a project from concept to completion.
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