New Justice Center Sparks Conversation About Downtown’s Future

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- The St. Cloud City Council has approved the annexation of the land that will become the future home of the Stearns County Justice Center.

Read More: New Justice Center in St. Cloud: Land Annexation Explained |

During the public hearing Monday night, some council members expressed frustration that the city wasn't involved in the process to move the facility early on.

Dave Masters says he's concerned about what will happen to downtown when the jail, sheriff's office, and courts move out.

Masters: The impact this is going to have on downtown St. Cloud, I know the courthouse is historic and cannot be demolished, but are there plans to demolish the other facilities down there, or try to sell those? What is the plan going forward?

Williams: We do have in the budget to demolish the sheriff's office, jail, and the court building (not the historic courthouse), and we intend to work with the city to redevelop that area.

Stearns County Administrator Mike Williams says the county's administration building will remain in downtown.

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New Stearns County Commissioner Bob Johnson told council members it could be an opportunity for the downtown.

You may recall that the previous mayor's task force, which involved numerous people from around the community, had a consultant who suggested that these kinds of facilities should not be in downtown.  So there's a lot of literature that suggests that.  I personally have a lot of hope for downtown as we develop and build destination sites.  The new Children's Museum, for example, will see 125,000 people come and visit this first year, and that number is only going to grow.

The vote to annex the land for the future Justice Center passed the city council unanimously.