The $490-million Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse project in Long Beach, Calif., employed fast-track design-build, led by an international group of investors and builders. The owner—the state of California's Judicial Council, Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)—selected a finance team led by France's Meridiam Infrastructure, working with its local development company, Long Beach Judicial Partners. Capital was provided by a consortium of Canadian, European and Japanese banks.
The new courthouse replaced a functionally deficient 35-year-old building nearby. Components of the new, 545,000-sq-ft facility include 31 courtrooms, 105,000 sq ft of leasable office and retail space, and seismic upgrades to an existing parking garage. The L-shaped building opened last summer, after a 26-month construction schedule.