In December 2020, the City of Petersburg was issued a Court Order that the City Council must provide courthouses with suitable space and facilities to accommodate the various courts and officials thereof serving the City of Petersburg. Per this Order, the Circuit Court found and declared that the District Courthouses were not in compliance with requirements of Virginia Code and that a schedule should be established by the Council to address and complete the necessary repair work.
Council decided to provide new court facilities to accommodate the District Courts by constructing a replacement courthouse for the District Courthouses, by means of a settlement agreement with the Commonwealth. The City Council is under this Court Order to begin construction of these New Court Facilities by October 2026.
Planning & Programming
Study In 2022, The City of Petersburg engaged Commonwealth Architects and Timmons Group to develop a Planning and Programming Study/Space Study of the City of Petersburg Courts and City Hall located in Petersburg, Virginia. During the course of the study the team engaged in multiple meetings with the General District Court, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Circuit Court, Sheriff’s Office, Court Services Unit / Juvenile Crime Control, the Magistrates Office, Commonwealth Attorney Office, Community Corrections, and representatives of the City of Petersburg. The study findings were presented to The City of Petersburg in June 2023. The Magistrates Office and Community Corrections were considered in the study and are not included as part of the new courts building project.
Facility Background
Constructed in 1970s, the existing Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court and General District Courts buildings have aged significantly, and the buildings cannot be repaired and / or renovated to meet the current and future needs of an efficiently run, safe, and healthy work environment for the Courts, and the public using the facilities. The building’s systems have aged causing difficulties in the smooth and efficient operation of the Courts’ business and impacting the health and welfare of the occupants. The interior room quantities, arrangement, sizes, and the circulation for both the secured areas and the public are outdated and no longer in line with the best practices in judicial design in 2023. This impacts the safety of both the public and the judicial staff. Court Services Unit / Juvenile Crime Control, and the Commonwealth Attorney Office are housed in a combination of office spaces that are either leased by the city or are repurposed historic buildings along the main street. These spaces currently are inefficient in servicing the needs of these offices. The Sheriff’s Office is currently housed in a small historic building, which lacks sufficient room for growth and although the location is near the current separate courts buildings, it would be better for the security of the judiciary system to be located inside the new court building.
Study Conclusion
The study concluded that a new courts building encompassing the General District Court, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Circuit Court , Sheriff’s Office, Court Services Unit / Juvenile Crime Control, and the Commonwealth Attorney Office will serve the City of Petersburg’s courts system and provide a solution to the court’s current needs and future needs. The current program space requirement for the building is 74,000 SF with over 50 parking spaces in an underground parking structure and a civic plaza above the parking structure to facility pedestrian circulation and provided a community space. The proposed project site includes the existing Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts, the General District Courts, the jail, and police station. It is the intention to retain the structures to the eastern portion of the existing courts complex including the existing Circuit Court, Sheriff’s Department and the historic Hustings Court.
As a result of the completed Space Study for the New Courts Facilities, the City engaged in soliciting proposals per the Public-Private Educational Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (PPEA) as adopted by Council of Petersburg in January 2008.