Alameda County Plans to Build Court Complex in Dublin by 2014
Alameda County Property Sign in Front of Future Dublin Courthouse Complex
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors recently approved construction of a $136M county court complex on Gleason Drive in Dublin near the Santa Rita Jail. Many parties are involved with the development and the final agreement is expected to be signed by March 2010.
The new 188,000 sq. ft. courthouse complex will have 2 buildings – 1 for the county and 1 for the courts (13 total courtrooms). Construction is expected to take 3-4 years with contractors working Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 5:30pm (unless an exception is granted by Dublin’s City Engineer).
Once the new courthouse opens in Dublin, Alameda County will close their currently leased Pleasanton courthouse. The new courthouse could be good news for Dublin residents serving jury duty in that the large courthouse will make it more likely that we will be called to serve in Dublin vs. Oakland or Hayward. Approximately 380 jobs will be brought to Dublin, although it isn’t clear how many of these are new positions.
One concern that many residents have with the construction of a new courthouse is traffic. However, the County will be paying impact fees to help mitigate the increased traffic related to their new courthouse.
Many residents may recall that Alameda County had initially planned to build a juvenile hall at the location where the courthouse will be built. However, efforts to build the juvenile hall were thwarted by a group of Dublin residents led by Kasie Hildenbrand (now a member of the Dublin City Council) and David Haubert (now President of the DUSD Board). Alameda County eventually decided to build the juvenile hall in San Leandro.
Special thanks to Around Dublin Blog reader Michael F. for contributing to this article.
View of Alameda County Property That Will Host New Dublin Courthouse Complex
9:38 AM on December 21st, 2009
unrelated issue. the snow on the website is festive and all, but it’s hanging my browser.
10:32 AM on December 21st, 2009
This is good news and we live near the area. Still, I just don’t see how it will take 3-4 years to build two buildings.
I also thought I read somewhere that this facility would also house the juvenile center, so it’s good to hear that this won’t be the case.
11:25 AM on December 21st, 2009
Not sure how good this news is – have you ever been to a courthouse? All kinds of nefarious characters hang around all day every day waiting for their cases to be heard. Lots of break ins of cars parked nearby etc. At least this is my experience serving on a jury in Hayward recently.
1:10 PM on December 21st, 2009
Car break-ins in Hayward? Get right outta town!
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
5:15 PM on December 21st, 2009
As a former insurance claims adjuster, I can tell you that courthouses bring in rough element of people. I attended settlement conferences, court-ordered mediation, etc. on a weekly basis and I was ALWAYS nervous (dressed in my most conservative business suits) as I had to walk through the parking lot, the front doors, lobby, etc. while scores of extremely rough characters loitered about STARING. I’m not sure why so many undesirables loiter around courthouses but I can tell you, from my experience, it is a fact that they do. I would not be happy about this if I lived in the surrounding neighborhoods. I live in Dublin Ranch and I must say I’m a bit disappointed that this has been approved. Aside from the “driving” traffic can you picture the “walking” traffic along Arnold Rd. (from the BART station) once this courthouse is completed? SCARY.
9:35 PM on December 21st, 2009
Good point…I assume that a majority of what was in Pleasanton will be moving to Dublin. Does anyone know if Pleasanton had problems with the type of crowds that inevitably come with courthouses? Is Pleasanton bidding good riddance to the court house or were they interested in keeping it?
If there is any good news in this at least CHP offices are next door…
7:47 PM on December 21st, 2009
i used to catch the 1A/1B from bart daily. the same route used by the people heading to “santa rita” during visiting hours. nothing but the county’s finest!
i know firsthand, it’s only going to get worse!
9:21 PM on December 21st, 2009
If it’s any type of crowd I’m worried about the courthouses attracting, it’s lawyers. Now THAT’S scary.
12:45 AM on December 22nd, 2009
I like the snow on my screen!
12:15 PM on December 22nd, 2009
Arnold road has some very scary looking dudes walking up and down it.. My wife and I drive this road to pass up red lights.. One night there was a pack of thugs walking in the middle of the street- I didn’t want to slow down but then again, you can’t just hit them either.. luckily they moved out of the way (there was about 8 of them walking around 10pm at night or so)…
I’m surprised there haven’t been any issues (that I can recall) with this.. I imagine the courthouse will bring more family members of such thugs….Sad but we know it’s true— not sure why Dublin wants to be the home to all this.. I won’t be taking that route any more (traffic will increase for sure and unsavory types with an axe to grind my be on their way to court or leaving court.. Not the kind of people I want to have to cross paths with… I do feel sorry for the neighbors in that area..
1:12 PM on December 22nd, 2009
I agree with previous comments. I don’t see how this is a good thing for Dublin.
9:10 PM on December 22nd, 2009
Its funny how Dublin residential area is sort of like the continous dumping ground for randomness.. First the Religious center (not promoting diversity as this would be promoting one group of people) Now lets put the court here next to homes – where as every other city puts both of these in industrial areas.
9:42 AM on December 23rd, 2009
The article mentions that the previously planned juvenile hall was thwarted by a group of local residents. Perhaps the best strategy is to raise very strong objections to the courthouse project as well. We all need to email the Planning Commission to voice our concerns and objections:
PlanningCommission@ci.dublin.ca.us
I also seem to remember that there was a vocal group organized against the Grafton Towers project some time ago, and it seems as though that project has been scaled back significantly. It sounds like organizing against this type of thing in our backyards may be the best way to stop this kind of nonsensical planning. I agree with the previous poster that any other city would be respectful enough to locate these things on the outskirts, or at least in an industrial setting properly secluded from residents.
11:33 PM on December 24th, 2009
Wouldn’t a courthouse make sense next to a jail? It would sure save the county a lot of money on transportation cost.
7:54 AM on December 28th, 2009
They already have high transportation costs. I highly doubt that most of the people being booked at the jail reside in this area. I think they would save even more in transportation costs if the jail was relocated to Oakland or Hayward.