Williamson County officials push forward on Justice Center improvements

At an Aug. 20 meeting, commissioners discussed possible alternative building sites for the Justice Center, according to previous Community Impact reporting. The court will revisit the proposal and timeline in October.

The Juvenile Justice Addition project will have five phases total, Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said. Its construction timeline awaits a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and drainage issues on-site to be fixed.

The construction design is fairly complete, and the TCEQ permit is hopefully arriving in December, with a groundbreaking to follow, said Dale Butler, Williamson County facilities senior director.

Upon the permit approval, Phase 1 will last 18 months, consisting of new construction beside the existing facility and an added courtroom, Butler said. Afterward, Phase 2 will begin next and go into summer 2027, consisting of a remodel in the existing intake area.

A closer look

The GMP for Phase 1 and 2 of the Juvenile Justice Addition is over the previous amount commissioners had approved, Covey said. The first item to consider cutting to lower costs would be the added courtroom, but Covey said she currently supports it.

“The current space in the Juvenile Detention Center is not adequate for the hearings that are going on, but more importantly, it’s a way of moving forward,” Covey said.

The added courtroom would hear from juvenile and civil cases, while the first two phases would aim to improve security and visitation opportunities, Covey said.

What else?

After breaking ground on a new Williamson County administration building, the headquarters is set to begin operations by December 2025, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

County Judge Bill Gravell said he likes the idea of the additional courtroom, but would prefer getting the pricing on completing the road from the administration entrance to juvenile services, which commissioners have not yet budgeted.

“Between [the] Juvenile [Justice Addition], the county administration and this drainage project—which are all within 200 yards of each other—we’ve got about $180 million dollars of construction going on,” Gravell said. “That’s a lot of people and a lot of moving.”

In the days ahead, Gravell said it would be wise to set aside money for the planning portion.

“We’re building rather a large county community there, and paths for getting in and out are important,” Gravell said.