Photo: PGAL

Fort Bend County Justice Center

The new 265,000-sq-ft Fort Bend County Justice Center includes 17 courtrooms, a jury assembly area, a grand jury area and future expansion provisions for 12 additional courtrooms. The basement level includes holding cell areas for adults and juveniles for total capacity of 112 prisoners and future expansion provisions for 34 more.

The building is a cast-in-place concrete structure on 70-ft drilled piers. A pre-fabricated dome structure tops out the three-level atrium on the north side while a clock tower highlights the south side. A new central plant includes cooling towers, chillers and generator with provisions for a future courthouse administration building expansion.

Construction of a 600-ft-long, cast-in-place concrete underground tunnel included a shoring and lagging system between 25 and 30 ft deep that required the shut-down of a county road between the courthouse and existing jail.

Key Facts

Location: Richmond
Construction Start Date: June 2009
Expected Completion Date: May 2011
Utilizing BIM? Yes
Seeking LEED certification? No
Owner/Developer: Fort Bend County County Commissioners Court, Richmond
General Contractor: JE Dunn Construction, Houston
Program Management Firm: The Mathis Group, Sugar Land
Architect/Civil Engineer: PGAL, Houston
Structural Engineer: Walter P Moore, Houston
MEP Engineer: Jacobs, Houston
Main Specialty/Subcontractors: Latta Technical Services, Dallas; Graves Mechanical, Houston; E3 Electric, Houston

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