After multiple years of delays, plans for a new Franklin County Municipal Courthouse in downtown Columbus have been revealed and the city is shooting for the project to be completed in 2030.
Columbus and its contractors have submitted concept plans to the Downtown Commission for the site on South High Street across from the current Municipal Court. The plan is to demolish the James A. Karnes Building on the corner of Fulton Street and the former Dorrian Commons Park on the corner of Mound Street. On the site, the city would build an eight-story, 340,000-square foot courthouse.
The city’s hope is for the Downtown Commission to approve the plans by December, demolition to begin in March 2026 and construction to begin in November 2026, according to Adam Robins, deputy director of the Columbus Department of Finance and Management. City officials hope to open the new Municipal Courthouse in early 2030.
This progress comes more than six years after Columbus voters approved a $130-million bond issue in 2019 to build the courthouse, replacing one built in the 1970s. More than six years later, inflation and building costs have gone up. In 2024, the city included $150 million in its capital budget for the new courthouse.
The final price tag for the project remains unknown, but the total estimated cost is currently around $300 million, according to Robins.
“The project hasn’t started until just recently because of the city’s tight capital budgets over the last few years,” Robins told The Dispatch. “It’s just now getting underway, but we’ve been planning and prioritizing this for the last few years.”
Submitted plans include connecting the new Municipal Courthouse on the third floor to the Franklin County Government Center with a sky bridge over High Street. The Columbus City Attorney’s office and Franklin County Public Defender’s office have offices across the street.
The plans also include multiple historical items on the site designated for possible salvage, including columns from 1887, plaques and a boulder from the former Dorrian Commons.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: After a multi-year delay, plans revealed for new courthouse in downtown Columbus coming 2030
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
