Evers Proposes Funding for County Courthouse Project
Proposing $25 million for new $495 million courthouse operated under state mandate.
Milwaukee County Safety Building. Photo by Graham Kilmer.
Gov. Tony Evers‘ is proposing the state provide Milwaukee County approximately $25 million over the next two years for the $495 million courthouse project currently underway.
The county is planning the development of a new criminal courthouse, to replace the run-down Safety Building, 821 W. State St., where Milwaukee County Circuit Court criminal trials are held.
“We can’t afford to kick the can down the road on key infrastructure projects across our state, most especially as the cost of building materials may only get more expensive with each day of delay due to potential tariff taxes and trade wars,” Evers said following the release of his capital budget Monday.
For a decade county officials have discussed the need to replace the building, constructed in 1929, which is out of date and increasingly an impediment to the proper functioning of the criminal court system. County officials started planning for a new building in 2024, as well as updates to the historic courthouse, the imposing neoclassical structure built in 1931 at 901 N. 9th St.
The price tag associated with the project and the county’s relative inability to pay for it has always necessitated some level of support from the state. The funding included in the governor’s capital budget would cover preliminary planning, design and site work, but it falls short of the $250 million total project support requested over the biennium.
“Partnership will be the key. Nearly 80% of Milwaukee County’s property tax levy is dedicated to state-mandated services,” said County Executive David Crowley. “That’s why state investment is critical to help protect taxpayers and resources for critical services – including other state-mandated services.”
It’s estimated the courthouse project will be the largest infrastructure project in county government history, requiring as much as $500 million and nearly eight years to develop, with construction finishing in 2032. The county brought on two consultants in January to assist with the project: AECOM, a national engineering firm, which is providing architectural planning and design, and the National Center for State Courts, a Virginia-based consultancy. It’s expected to take at least three years to plan the complex project.
Funding from the state will help the county move through the design phase of the project. Additional state funding will be needed to carry the project through construction.
County and court officials consider the existing, 322,000-square-foot Safety Building “functionally obsolete” as a criminal courthouse. The outdated building, which still has 60,000 square feet of former jail space, poses safety concerns. The design leaves defendants, jurors, victims and witnesses all using the same common hallways to access the court rooms. These hallways have led to mistrials and delays in transporting defendants in custody, contributing to delays in a court system still struggling with a backlog of criminal cases.
“We put our jurors, we put the public, we put our staff at risk because of the way things are built now and not compliant with the Supreme Court rules,” Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley previously said.
The county budgets approximately $500,000 annually on maintenance for the Safety Building, which has a maintenance backlog estimated at approximately $75 million. If the county were to simply redevelop the facility, bringing it into compliance with modern building codes and ADA requirements, it would cost an estimated $333.5 million.
If the county decides to raze the safety building and construct a new courthouse in its place county operations will be displaced during two years of construction. Planners are considering where to move those operations under that scenario, and whether that option makes sense.
“I thank Governor Tony Evers for recognizing the importance of this issue and look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Governor and members of the State Legislature to address the critical public safety needs in Milwaukee County for the benefit of our entire region and state,” Crowley said.
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