| Huntington Park Court Courtroom and Jury
Assembly Annex Replacement Project |
 On April 14, 2003, the groundbreaking for the Huntington Park Court Replacement Courtroom and Jury Assembly Annex Project was held. The Huntington Park Courthouse is located in the Huntington Park Civic Center and is considered to be among the oldest court buildings in Los Angeles County. The two-story building of Spanish style architecture was built in 1954. Originally, three full-service courtrooms serviced the first floor. Office space and a jury assembly room on the second floor were converted to courtroom use several years ago in an effort to meet the growing needs of the community and the judicial district. The conversion satisfied the immediate problems associated with growth, but resulted in inadequate accommodation for jurors and an undersized courtroom with no judge's chamber and no secure access for in-custody defendants.
To address these deficiencies and reduce current overcrowding, the First District and Chief Administrative Office funded $1.74 million for this important project. Public Works, Project Management Division II, is responsible for the programming, design and construction of the project. After several meetings with the project stakeholders (First District, Chief Administrative Office, Los Angeles Superior Court, and the City of Huntington Park) the design of a 4,320 square foot modular building with connecting corridors to the existing building was proposed and accepted. The new one-story modular building will house a replacement courtroom with a jury assembly room and will accommodate a maximum of 60 jurors. A separate, secured corridor will enable the movement of inmates between the existing courthouse detention cells and the proposed replacement courtroom. The new structure will complement the civic center architecture, accommodate existing operations in a more comfortable environment, and meet all applicable state courthouse design guidelines.
Presently, construction of the foundation is underway. Public Works is coordinating with the modular building vendor and City staff to minimize disruptions to the daily operations of the Huntington Park Civic Center. Successful completion of the project is anticipated in time for occupancy during summer 2003.
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