Alameda County Courthouse Redesign
The Dublin City Council held a joint study session with the Planning Commission on November 16th to discuss amendments to the site development plans of the Alameda County East County Hall of Justice (a.k.a. the Courthouse).
Since the time prior to our City’s incorporation, Alameda County owned roughly 40 acres of land near the current intersection of Hacienda and Gleason near the Santa Rita Jail. Residents may recall that the original plans were to use the entire 40 acre site to construct a massive Juvenile Hall with 540 beds (one of the largest in the nation), a Courthouse consisting of 19 courtrooms, and a large office complex for various administrative services to support both the Juvenile Justice Center and courts.
Due in large part to the active opposition of Dublin residents to the proposal, Alameda County rebuilt its Juvenile Justice Center in San Leandro (as opposed to the Dublin neighborhood), reduced the number of courtrooms to 13, and scaled back its administrative office and support facilities. In response, the Dublin City Council approved the site development plans in November of 2004.
Since that time, Alameda County has reassessed their needs. They sold the eastern portion of the site to the Dublin San Ramon Services District (DSRSD) for their future maintenance yard and expansion needs. For the portion of the site they still controlled, Alameda County approached the Dublin City Council and Staff earlier this year about further reducing the scale of the project. Although the new design is only slightly smaller in terms of square footage (196,000 as opposed to the original 208,000 square feet) and has the same number of courtrooms (13), the new redesign has several advantages.
One of the biggest advantages is that the configuration and footprint of the buildings are pushed further back away from the neighborhood. The height of the buildings at their tallest point remains the same (5 stories/90 feet), but most importantly the height closest to the residents has been reduced from three stories to two, and the tallest portions of the site are as far from the residents as possible. The revised building design represents a more modern, streamlined architectural style than the original proposal, with much more glass and natural light to complement the surrounding office uses. In addition, the revised project includes more parking spaces, an enhanced landscaped courtyard, and a Silver LEED environmental certification at a minimum.
Both the City Council and Planning Commission praised Alameda County for their continual work on improving the project. A few minor suggestions and modifications were suggested, but overall there was enthusiastic support for the redesign. At this point, the County will be bringing the plans back to the Dublin City Council for formal adoption in the next few months, and it’s anticipated that construction will begin shortly thereafter. The new Courthouse is slated to begin operations in the latter half of 2013.
