Washington County Government Center upgrade nears completion

It was but a skeleton in a sea of mud just last spring, but now the expanded Washington County government campus is five months from completion.

"It's been one of the smoothest running projects I've ever been involved with, especially considering the size," Don Theisen, the county's chief engineer, said of the $59.6 million expansion.

At five stories, the new and improved government center will be Stillwater's tallest building. When completed next March, the expansion will feature 12 new and remodeled courtrooms, improved family and juvenile courts, a modern 911 call center, a self-help legal center for Washington County residents and a merging of Internet technology data centers.

The expansion was intended to equip the county -- which is nearing a quarter million residents and projects 140,000 more by 2025 -- with suitable space for another two decades, Theisen said.

The project remains on schedule and on budget, he said. Workers recently laid carpet in new offices above the county's Law Enforcement Center, which houses the Sheriff's Office and the jail. Most of the windows have been installed in the adjacent courts addition.

"Cooperation and good work by a lot of people," was how Theisen described the construction, which involved linking two existing buildings. Before construction began in September 2007, the county's 28-acre campus on the border of Stillwater and Oak Park Heights housed county offices and the courts. The nearby Law Enforcement Center was home to the Sheriff's Office, the 911 center and the jail.

Theisen said that at times 200 construction workers had jobs on the site -- a community benefit, he said, in a tough economy. "We're investing in the future, putting people to work," he said. "This project was planned and funded before these times."

The expansion addresses the need for better security in the courts and in escorting prisoners from the county jail, Theisen said. Prisoners will be taken to the courts in secure elevators. A separate tunnel was built for juveniles to keep them segregated from adult prisoners.

The expansion will leave space for six more courtrooms to be finished later. County buildings constructed in the 1970s and 1980s -- now somewhat outmoded and often overcrowded -- were built for growth in their time and served the county well, Theisen said.

The county also is talking about remodeling the south wing, which includes the county board room.