Groundbreaking on the new $94 million Elkhart County courthouse

 

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind -- After 30 years of planning, 32 acres of land will soon be Elkhart County's new courthouse complex.

"Oh, this is a fantastic project it’s been so long in the making," said Elkhart County Commissioner Suzanne Weirick

Since 1992 Elkhart county elected officials have come and go but the historic old courthouse in Goshen has remained in place since 1870—along with other courtrooms and offices operating in a separate facility in Elkhart.

"I’ve heard it’s been going on for well over 10 years if you talk to some of the judges and seen their files to get us to this point," said Weirick.

The new unified court complex on this land off Reliance Road will hopefully end any confusion for people about what courthouse to go to for what kind of cases.

"The judges have consolidated into courts or divisions. So, we’ll have a family division, a civil division, and a criminal division and they can be more affective and knowledgeable about their division as well as understand how to better serve individuals" said Weirick.

Judges in attendance for the groundbreaking believe they’ve done the best they could over the years but having 13 court rooms in a new $94 million dollar state of the art four story courthouse will be a big win for everyone involved in the legal process.

"This will give us many more opportunities to specialize in our areas of law and to create programs that will benefit litigants and the community at large," said Superior Court 6 Judge David Bonfiglio.

City officials also say the $94 million state of the art facility will not raise taxes for anyone.