Juvenile court prepares for move

For the average person, packing up an entire home and moving into another one is a daunting task. It seems there’s always one more box to pack.
Moving day is in less than a month for the Charlottesville/Albemarle Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, but a city official said the move on Aug. 11 and 12 to the newly renovated courthouse won’t be that difficult.

“It’s not a complicated move from our perspective,” said Mike Mollica, Charlottesville’s capital projects director. “We’ve had to temporarily relocate entire schools, so this is a pretty simple move.”
The complicated part has been finishing the $20.1 million renovation. The construction work, which was approved in 2004, came to a halt in March 2006 after a corner of the building collapsed while crews drilled supports for the building. Renovation work was stopped for about a year as a result.
Earlier this year, the city granted Kenbridge Construction a deadline extension for “substantial completion” of the project as part of a settlement of the city’s lawsuit over the wall collapse. In June, the move-in date was pushed back two more weeks to last Tuesday due to constant rainfall.
“The buildings are certainly ready, but there’s no way to take occupancy if there isn’t an ADA-accessible entrance,” Mollica said.
Remaining work includes finishing the sidewalks, courtyard, front entry and parking lot. Mollica said the project is expected to come in at or slightly under budget.

Most of the furniture in the renovated courthouse is new. The contractor will move the high-density filing systems into the building. during a slow week that coincides with a judges’ conference, Mollica said.
Jody Shelley, the court’s clerk, said the juvenile court should officially resume Aug. 17 in the renovated building.
The Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office also will have a home on the second floor of the renovated 30,200-square-foot courthouse. Sheriff J.E. “Chip” Harding said the hardest part of the move for his office would be going through hours of training to learn how to use the new technology.
“It will be a big leap as far as facilities,” Harding said. “There’s going to be a whole lot more cameras. Just about everyone will go through eight hours of training on the equipment.”
Unlike the juvenile court’s current location in the Levy Opera House, the renovated courthouse will have a single public entry with a metal detector that everyone must walk through.
The building will have cameras, a separate and secure entrance for judges and a covered, two-vehicle sally port for juvenile transport.
The county sheriff’s office provides security for both the city and county in the joint courthouse. Harding said the city pays for a couple of his officers, who the move will have a limited impact on because they mostly work out of the office.
Mollica said the city and county likely would have a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the courthouse.

The interior of the building looks completely different, Harding said, but people familiar with the old façade will recognize it in the entryway of the renovated courthouse.
The carpet is down in the courthouse and some furniture has arrived. Bill Letteri, director of facilities development for Albemarle County, took a tour of the building earlier this month.
“It looks wonderful,” Letteri said. “They’ve done a terrific job, I think. It’s state-of-the-art, a very pleasant environment and very appropriate for what’s needed.”
The three-story building now has a three-story annex attached. The top two floors of the main building both house a large courtroom, two hearing rooms and office space with large windows to let light in. Around the back of the building, there’s a three-level, 91-space parking garage for staff.

As for the Levy building, Letteri and Mollica said the city and county still are working together with Moseley Architects to assess the needs of the localities’ general district and circuit court operations.
Mollica said the groups are discussing the possibility of creating a joint general district court facility in the soon-to-be-vacated building.