Plans are swiftly moving for the construction of a new courthouse to serve the 12th Judicial District in Otero County.
The project in Alamogordo may ultimately cost as much as $30 million to complete and will go up off the Charlie T. Lee Memorial Relief Route, just to the north of the Mesa Verde Ranch Road.
The anticipated 45,000-square-foot building will house four courtrooms and two hearing rooms, with additional space set for security operations and administrative offices.
The current 12th District courthouse is located at 100 N. New York Avenue and is regarded as not being up to current needs, with a lack of space, and no sprinkler system. Additional reported problems have included holding cell issues and both heating and cooling systems deficiencies.
The courthouse was completed in early 1956 and formally inaugurated in June of that year.
Controversy regarding the condition of the building has been ongoing for nearly a decade but reached a boiling point in 2018 when the 12th Judicial Court began legal proceedings against Otero County, arguing that the county was failing to provide adequate facilities as required by state law.
That lawsuit partly resulted in the hiring of a consultant tasked with conducting a feasibility study on how much it would cost to upgrade the facility.
The decision to build an entirely new facility won the approval of the Otero County Commission more than a year ago, resulting in the Las Cruces-based ASA Architects being brought in to design the structure.
By Garry Boulard
