The original justice center was built in the 1990s near the Heber Valley Hospital. Once the expansion is complete, the facility will have added about 20,000 square feet to its existing 12,000-square-foot building.
The first phase of the $23 million project opened Dec. 12. It includes new state courtrooms, staff spaces and attorney offices.
Richard Breitenbeker, who’s managing the project, said during a tour of the new facilities Dec. 15 the expansion will make operations more efficient and flexible.
Previously, district, justice and juvenile courts all had to share one courtroom. Now, judges will have more say over their schedules.
“It both increases the quality of life for those working, and it increases the quality of the experience for those who are coming to court,” Breitenbeker told KPCW.
District court handles all civil cases and criminal felonies, as well as domestic cases such as divorces and adoptions. Justice court deals with misdemeanors and violations of local laws. And juvenile court works with anyone under 18 accused of breaking the law.
That mix of cases means both state and county employees use the justice center. The state will pay about half of the project’s $23 million price tag.
“That includes everything: the permitting, the design, all of the things that go along with it,” Breitenbeker said. “Our actual construction cost is just over $20 million.”
He said every aspect of the new facility has been carefully planned by design firm EDA Architects, from the height of the barriers around the jury box to the size of the stones in the stormwater retention pond outside.
“If you make the stones too large, they could potentially be used as weapons, and if you make them too small, then they’re very easy to hurl at the building,” he said. “These are the kinds of thought processes that you don’t often have on a typical building.”
How the courtrooms look and sound were important considerations, too. Wood lattices in the ceilings and gently sloping walls help prevent the rooms from echoing. The warmth of the wood in the judge’s dais and the other furniture is meant to make the courtrooms feel calmer and more welcoming.
The larger building will offer more privacy to people visiting the courthouse. One staff member said that will be especially helpful for juvenile court, since the identities of those under 18 need to be protected.
While construction work continues, people coming to the courthouse for hearings will enter through the north end of the building.
Monday morning, Okland Construction teams were doing demolition work in the old courthouse. The next phases of construction will create renovated spaces for the Wasatch County justice court, attorneys and staff.
So far, the project is on time and under budget. Breitenbeker estimates the expansion will be finished in August 2026.
To pay for the project, Wasatch County issued a $23.4 million lease revenue bond in 2024. It will be repaid, with the state’s help, over the next 20 years. Breitenbeker said the county does not plan to raise property taxes to pay for the expansion.
“That’s because the state contribution covers a lot of it, and then we’ve also got other revenues coming in from things like the Deer Valley area,” he said.
The sheriff’s office and the county jail are also part of the justice center but are not included in this project. Separately, Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby has said he would like to make about $1 million worth of safety improvements to the jail.
