A rendering of Plenary Justice Miami LLC's proposed Miami-Dade County civil courthouse lobby.

Miami is on its way to getting a new downtown civil courthouse after the Miami-Dade County Commission unanimously approved a builder Tuesday, taking a significant step after years of studies and talk about how to pay for construction.

The commission voted 11-0 to enter a 34-year public-private partnership with the Plenary Justice Miami LLC development group. Commissioner Barbara Jordan was absent.

The vote was good news for judges, attorneys and the legal support staff who packed the chambers and erupted in loud sustained applause following approval.

Miami-Dade's legal community has pushed for a new courthouse for years to replace the historic 1928 facility at 73 W. Flagler St., which is showing its age with mold and leaks.

Under the partnership, Plenary will front the construction cost and build a 23-story courthouse on a half-acre owned by the county on Flagler Street between the existing courthouse and Metromover tracks.

Construction is set to start early next year and be completed by 2024. The county will repay Plenary an estimated $810 million in annual installments over 30 years. Plenary will operate and maintain the courthouse during this time period.

"Finally the day has arrived," Miami-Dade Chief Circuit Judge Bertila Soto told commissioners before the vote. "You inherited this problem after decades of accrued deferred maintenance. The building has not had a certificate of occupancy since 1976 and hasn't had a 40-year certification until recently."

The new courthouse design is "modest, elegant and dignified," Soto added. "It is under budget, ahead of schedule, and we have negotiated everything down to who is going to pay for the toilet paper."

Overall, the county is expected to pay over $852 million for the project over three decades, although not all goes to Plenary.

The funding for Plenary breaks down to an annual payment of $21.3 million for capital costs, an interest rate that won't exceed 4.92% and a maintenance charge that would fluctuate annually with the consumer price index. The first-year maintenance charge would be $4 million.

Separately, the county is allocating $13.3 million for contingencies, $25 million for furniture and security systems, $3.5 million for art relocation and builders insurance, and $1 million a year for public transportation. The county used Federal Transit Administration to buy the site for Metromover construction, and nontransit use requires an annual contribution to public transit.

Miami-Dade has vowed to use no property taxes but is counting on $50 million from a voter-approved bond and the sale of the existing courthouse.

Plenary is led by concessionaire Plenary Group USA Concessions, which selected the rest of the team. The others are Los Angeles-based builder Tutor Perini Corp., St. Louis, Missouri-based architectural firm HOK and operations and maintenance company Johnson Controls Inc.

The new courthouse design emphasizes natural light. Each courtroom will have at least one external wall with a window, Mike Schutt, vice president at Plenary Group in Tampa, previously told the Daily Business Review.

The 640,000-square-foot courthouse will have 46 courtrooms and shells for four more to be built out later.

The building will include a small parking garage on the basement level and art of the first and second floors.

The main entrance opens onto a three-story atrium lobby with a grand staircase.

The lower floors would house offices for the clerk of courts, judicial support staff and administrative services for the public. The upper floors would house courtrooms and judges' chambers.

Generally, each judge will be assigned to a courtroom and have chambers next door. Four courtrooms would be built on each floor, and chambers will be in the corners.

This is Miami-Dade's first public-private partnership for a court building. The county has had other infrastructure built through this model.

Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who recommended Plenary Justice as the builder after a competitive process, said this is a performance-based contract.

County payments to Plenary will be cut if items such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning aren't up to par and need more maintenance.

Still, the county estimates the partnership will save the county $50 million over the life of the contract.

Plenary beat five other candidates, four of which responded to a county solicitation. The fifth was an unsolicited proposal from a partnership of Florida East Coast Industries LLC, the parent company of Virgin Trains USA, and El Paso, Texas-based Hunt Cos. Inc.

A selection committee rated Plenary highest.

The process that led up to the selection unfolded over four years at 34 meetings, dozens more stakeholder meetings and 15 task force meetings, according to a Miami-Dade Circuit Court news release. Four master plans were developed over a longer time period.

The county struggled over time to finance the project. Voters in 2014 shot down a $390 million bond proposal to finance a new courthouse.

Commissioner Sally Heyman, a lawyer who championed the new courthouse project, at Tuesday's meeting showed photos of the existing courthouse to stress why a new building is needed. The existing courthouse will be restored and preserved, she added.

"73 West Flagler is a historical building. I am committed with my colleagues and the judiciary to bring it back to its glory in another use," she said.

 

Related stories: 

Miami-Dade Civil Courthouse Plans Unveiled Ahead of Commission Vote

Miami-Dade Mayor Picks Front-Runner to Build New Civil Courthouse

Competition to Build Miami-Dade's Civil Courthouse Heats Up With Ranking Dispute