ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- Stearns County is entering the next phase of building a new Justice Center after county commissioners approved the schematic design.

The proposal calls for a 510,000 square-foot facility that will house the sheriff's office, a 270 bed jail, county attorney's office, judges chambers and a five-floor courtroom tower...

So, there's 11 courtrooms in this schematic design. And again, what that does is because they make it into several floors we're able to keep judges from the public, the public separate from the jurors, and all that sort of thing with different elevators and different hallways and everything. That's much easier to build on a number of floors rather than on one floor.

County Administrator Mike Williams says The estimated cost for the project is around $315,000,000 and they're looking for ways to bring that number down even further.

Williams says they're now working to acquire the preferred site where a new justice center would be built. They've identified two parcels of land west of Modern Barnyard along County Road 75 as their preferred site...

If you go by Mill's Fleet Farm and you go over the bridge we just rebuilt last year, you look off to the right and there's some vacant land there. That's our preferred site. We had other sites identified. We also talked with the board about moving forward and pursuing the purchase of those properties. We'll be doing that, here, as soon as we can get at it.

The two parcels total 78 acres with 68 acres of buildable land. The property is not currently within the St. Cloud city limits so it would have to be annexed.

Williams says the entrance to the Justice Center would be via County Road 134.

The design includes a sheriff's office, 270-bed jail on one level, the courtrooms, county attorney's office, judges' chambers, and emergency management.

The county plans to release the first bid package in April, approve the bids in August and break ground in the spring of 2026.

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