Oldham County to ceremonially break ground for new judicial center TODAY in LaGrange

TO BE COMPLETED IN WINTER OF 2025

FRANKFORT, Ky., March 27, 2023 – The media and public are invited to a groundbreaking ceremony for the planned Oldham County Judicial Center at 2 p.m. ET Tuesday. The event will take place at the construction site at 100 W. Main St. in LaGrange. The new judicial center will incorporate the historic brick courthouse.

The Kentucky General Assembly authorized the Oldham County project in 2018 and approved its funding in 2020. The project cost is $44.4 million. The new two-story structure will contain approximately 53,858 square feet and is scheduled to be completed by November 2025.

New and updated judicial centers improve upon older, inadequate facilities, greatly enhancing the delivery of court services. The Oldham County Judicial Center will support the latest data, computer, video and networking technology. The facility will also provide the highest level of Kentucky court security through a single-point entry with magnetometers and security personnel.

Chief Justice of the Commonwealth Laurance B. VanMeter said he appreciates the legislators and county officials who support the improvements for Oldham County.

“With more than 800,000 cases working their way through the courts each year, our facilities are busy places of justice and court business,” Chief Justice VanMeter said. “Judicial centers should be safe and efficient for everyone who passes through their doors.”

Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects designed the Oldham County Judicial Center. Wehr Constructors is the construction manager for the project and RW Baird is the financial agent.

Chief Justice VanMeter and Oldham County Judge-Executive David Voegele will be among the speakers at the ceremony. Other state and local officials are expected to attend.

Process for Constructing Judicial Facilities
The Administrative Office of the Courts oversees the construction and maintenance of Kentucky court facilities in accordance with House Bill 734, which was passed by the 2000 General Assembly. As a result of this legislation, the AOC created a process to fairly and objectively determine court facility needs.

Once funding is authorized, the AOC Division of Capital Construction works with local communities to assemble a project development board. This board ensures that county and court officials have input on all aspects of the project, including decisions on the site, architect and contractor. The PDB is composed of the county judge-executive, a fiscal court representative, the chief circuit judge, the chief district judge, the circuit court clerk, a citizen-at-large, the AOC director or designee and a Kentucky Bar Association designee.

As the operations arm for the state court system, the AOC in Frankfort supports the activities of nearly 3,300 court system employees and 413 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. The AOC also executes the Judicial Branch budget.