County Selects Contractors for Courthouse

Milwaukee County Safety Building. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County recently selected a construction manager for its new criminal courthouse project.

Gilbane Building and JP Cullen & Sons will manage the project as Gilbane | Cullen, a Joint Venture, according to an announcement by Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley‘s office Monday. Gilbane | Cullen will provide construction management at risk, providing the county with an agreed upon guaranteed maximum price for construction.

The county is planning to demolish the Safety Building, 821 W. State St., and build a new criminal courthouse. The Safety Building is nearly 100 years old. It has significant maintenance needs and creates challenges for the proper functioning of the circuit court system.

“As we look to the future of Milwaukee County’s Courthouse Complex, it’s clear that removing the Public Safety Building and investing in modern, sustainable facilities is essential for delivering positive outcomes for all who interact with our justice system,” Crowley said in a statement today.“Partnering with Gilbane | Cullen will allow Milwaukee County to develop a state-of-the-art facility that meets the needs of our community today while preparing for the next 100 years. I’m looking forward to this partnership creating construction jobs and delivering results for Milwaukee County residents.”

Gilbane Building and JP Cullen & Sons recently worked on construction of the new Marcia P. Coggs Health and Human Services Center, 1230 W. Cherry St.

Construction on the new courthouse could begin as early as 2027 and could run into 2032, according to current project timelines. Afterward, the county will renovate the historic county courthouse at 901 N. 9th Street.

“Gilbane and Cullen are deeply rooted in Milwaukee County,” said Shannon Metoxen, Vice President and Division Manager, JP Cullen. “Whether our team grew up here or works in our local offices, each member has a personal connection to the community. They feel a personal responsibility for the success of this project and will be here long after its completion. Our team’s proven track record working with Milwaukee County provides a first-hand understanding of the County’s processes and expectations. We will bring this knowledge and experience to the Investing In Justice: Courthouse Complex project.”

The announcement follows a critical approval for the project. On Sept. 18, the Milwaukee County Board voted to approve a series of budget allocations and fund transfers that allow the county to use new funding from the state of Wisconsin for the courthouse project.

The funding, on paper, is intended to support the Milwaukee County Sheriff‘s Office (MCSO) expressway patrol function. Milwaukee is the only county in the state that must patrol its own freeways. During discussions with the Republican officials, whose party controls the state Legislature, funding for expressway patrol became connected to the county’s funding requests for a new courthouse.

The Republican legislators were wary of supporting the county’s courthouse project, lest other counties around the state start asking for help building their courthouses, too.

“And we were asked, would the increase in expressway patrol becoming permanent, would that work for you, instead of the $250 million direct support allocation?” Budget Director Joe Lamers explained to supervisors on the Committee on Finance on Sept. 11.

During the meeting, Sup. Justin Bielinski was questioning the logic of putting state funding into the MCSO budget, which is currently running a deficit, and does every year, then taking funding out and putting it into the courthouse project.

There’s nothing explicitly stated in the state budget that the funds for the expressway patrol must be used to offset spending on courthouse development, but that is the legislative intent, county officials were told. The funding stream created by the espressway patrol aids should be enough to “offset a significant portion” of the long-term debt payments required to finance construction of the new courthouse, Lamers said.

Chief Judge Carl Ashley also told supervisors he heard concerns from state legislators that Milwaukee County would not spend the money the way the legislature intended if support for courthouse development was provided.

“And I am concerned that if we don’t follow through on what we said we were going to use the money for, that may jeopardize the stream of money that we’re going to get and we need,” Ashley said.

The Milwaukee County Board approved the funding shuffle at its latest meting on Sept. 18 on a 12-to0 six vote, with supervisors Justin Bielinski, Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones, Juan Miguel Martinez, Sequanna Taylor and Marcelia Nicholson voting against the project.