(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By rdnewsNOW staff

$97 million facility

Work set to begin on new Red Deer Justice Centre

Sep 10, 2020 | 2:38 PM

Work on the new Red Deer Justice Centre will begin in the coming weeks.

Groundbreaking was held Thursday afternoon for the $97 million facility to replace the current Red Deer Courthouse that has long dealt with capacity issues. Red Deer’s population has nearly doubled since the courthouse was built in the 1980s and in order to free up space, Traffic Court has been operating off-site, at the Baymont Inn and Suites (formerly Red Deer Lodge), since 2014.

The new Red Deer Justice Centre is being built not far away at 4819 48 Street, where the former downtown Red Deer RCMP building once stood, and will include 16 courtrooms. Twelve courtrooms will be fully built for immediate use and four will be roughed-in for future use, the province says.

“On behalf of city council and our entire community, we welcome the news that construction is moving forward on the new Red Deer Justice Centre,” said Mayor Tara Veer. “Provincial investment in this critical infrastructure acknowledges the widespread impacts of crime on our city, our region and the citizens we jointly serve. It will, without doubt, help alleviate impacts to families in crisis and victims of crime by ensuring more timely access to justice through expanded courthouse capacity.”

The new facility was designed by Group2 Architecture and Interior Design, in conjunction with justice facility specialists DLR Group. Contractor Clark Builders will begin construction activities on site in the coming weeks, with completion anticipated for spring 2023.

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The new, approximately 29,000 square metre (312,000 square foot) facility will be built to LEED Silver standards to ensure reduced energy consumption and operational costs, and increased structural durability. Officials say the Red Deer Justice Centre will include modern technology to replace legacy systems and processes in place at the current court facilities.

The province expects the project to create 750 construction and construction-related jobs.

“This critical investment is a direct response to the feedback my ministry received during last year’s rural crime tour, where our government listened first-hand to the experiences of rural Albertans facing an uptick in crime,” said Kaycee Madu, the province’s new Minister of Justice and Solicitor General. “The upgrades to the Red Deer Justice Centre will help ensure the justice system is working effectively and efficiently to meet the needs of those in Red Deer and the surrounding communities, while making sure the judiciary, staff and the public are safe.”

A funding committment for the new Red Deer Justice Centre was first announced by the former NDP government in March 2017. It is now part of the current UCP government’s $10 billion Alberta Recovery Plan.

Veer and Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda also noted that the province has committed to the safety and preservation of Parsons House. The mayor added that local MLAs have been notified that the City will eventually wish to discuss the future of the current courthouse, in order to avoid it becoming a dormant facility.