Staunton Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courthouse breaks ground
STAUNTON – There is no ground to break, but the city of Staunton held a groundbreaking anyway.
The gate surrounding the former Chestnut Hills Shopping Center was open, and the parking lot was full for the first time in months. After chatting and snacking on churros from Mi Rancho and cannoli from Stella Mia Pizzeria, a few dozen people gathered in front of the Heck’s department store.
“The building behind me will be demolished and not soon enough,” said Staunton Mayor Stephen Claffey. “The new two-story court facility will be constructed in that spot.”
On April 4, Staunton announced Howard Shockey and Sons was the lowest bidder on the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courthouse. The city agreed to not exceed $35.5 million in bonds for the project, and the bid came just over half of this worst-case scenario – $18.8 million.
“Shockey is proud to continue its longstanding history of building the most vital public facilities in the Shenandoah Valley,” Shockey President Jeff Boehm said. “The new courthouse is of particular significance because of the role it will play in assuring that area youth receive fair and impartial justice, and that family matters can be best addressed for positive outcomes.”
The project is one of two emerging from the court order demanding Augusta County resolve its courthouse safety and security issues. The new Augusta County Courthouse broke ground in March. Augusta County and Staunton shared the old J&DR courthouse, and the county will be relocating to the new facility when construction is complete.
“This is one of the hardest projects I have ever worked on in my entire career, but it has been the most rewarding,” said City Manager Leslie Beauregard. “The process is not always smooth, I think we can all agree with that, but we've learned a lot from going through this process.”
Around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, city officials, staff, and contractors gathered to break ground on the project, located in Staunton’s West End.
“We're very excited about what this project means for the West End and what it means for the staff in the city that's going to relocate out here,” said Claffey. “With this investment the vacant lot will be transformed into a new civic and community anchor, which will spur additional growth and development in the important business sector that runs along West Beverly.”
The crowd heard from Claffey, Beauregard, Boehm, and Tony Bell, a principal with Moseley Architects working on the project. Beauregard and Claffey both thanked and credited the city staff for their work on the project.
Then the metaphorical groundbreaking began — each speaker, all of Staunton City Council, and some of the judges and police officers that will be working in the courthouse picked up a shovel and placed the tip on the concrete parking lot.
"Push hard," came a voice from the crowd, getting a round of laughter from council. "I'd like to see them do with jackhammers," came another.
With that, the project is underway. The two-story, 34,330-square-foot courthouse’s final site plan is available online. For a higher resolution of the floor plans than in previous reporting by The News Leader, see pages 30 and 32.
Lyra Bordelon (she/her) is the public transparency and justice reporter at The News Leader. Do you have a story tip or feedback? It’s welcome through email to lbordelon@gannett.com. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
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This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courthouse breaks ground
