Milwaukee County setting up RFP for courthouse project

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Milwaukee County is getting ready to seek contractors for a nearly $490 million criminal courthouse project to replace the aging Safety Building with a new Justice Center.

The county’s Department of Administrative Services is looking for contractors to help with master planning of the courthouse complex, including the historic courthouse, criminal justice facility and designing a replacement for the public safety building. Part of the RPF also seeks development of a building informational model for the courthouse and part of the criminal justice facility.

County officials expect the RFP to be released in mid-June with proposals due mid-July 2024. A more detailed RFP will be released in the future.

Discussions over what to do with the safety building have gone on since at least 2015 when the county assessed its facilities.

The Safety Building, built in 1929, was repurposed as an office for justice system workers and holds nine courtrooms, but doesn’t adequately meet the need, the Wisconsin Policy Forum reported. The building is also in poor condition with millions of dollars of repair needs, the report added. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley earmarked $9.5 million for project planning in his 2024 budget.

Planners expect the county’s Office of Economic Inclusion will set a contract targeted business enterprise participation goal of 17%. Participation goals will be finalized in the later RFP.