Fort Collins approves $1.5M to begin remodeling its municipal court

Molly Bohannon, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·4 min read
Fort Collins' municipal court has lived in part of the first floor of 215 N. Mason St. since 2007, but it has outgrown the space. On Jan. 17, City Council approved $1.5 million for the design of a remodel that will give the municipal court the entire first floor of the building.
Fort Collins' municipal court has lived in part of the first floor of 215 N. Mason St. since 2007, but it has outgrown the space. On Jan. 17, City Council approved $1.5 million for the design of a remodel that will give the municipal court the entire first floor of the building.

Fort Collins City Council approved an appropriation of $1.5 million for the remodel design of the municipal court building at 215 N. Mason St., a project that could eventually cost more than $15 million.

The appropriation, which came from capital expansion fees, is the start of a remodel the city hopes will keep the court staff comfortable for at least the next 15 years.

Staff presented the plan for the remodel to the City Council Finance Committee in early December, and it went before council on Jan. 17, where it was passed unanimously in the consent agenda.

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The municipal court moved into the current location on Mason Street in 2007, and minimal renovations have been done since then, mostly just for safety and security reasons, according to the December presentation by staff, including Chief Judge Jill Hueser.

“My understanding is it was never really thought of as this permanent solution to the space problem at that time,” Hueser said. “If you look at the layout, it’s pretty clear that we just took an office building and tried to turn it into a court.”

Council approved the less expensive renovation, though staff also presented council finance with a 30-year option at their December meeting. The 30-year plan would include building an addition to the building and was expected to cost $700,000 more to design and $5.5 million more to build.

The approved 15-year plan involves simply taking over and remodeling the entire first floor of 215 N. Mason St. The remodel will displace the city’s parking services and emergency preparedness and security departments, which are also on the first floor.

Council members Kelly Ohlson and Shirley Peel — who serves as an alternate on the committee — both supported the 15-year plan because of the ability to scale it up or down as needed.

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Tracy Ochsner, director of operation services, told council members he believed that with the 15-year option, “there’s an opportunity for a second phase add-on to the building in a future date” if they determine that’s the best course.

Peel added she prefers the 15-year plan because of the uncertainty around committing to a 30-year court design.

“I’m going to agree with the 15-year because I think that we don’t know, we’ve seen during the pandemic how things shifted so quickly and the nature of work looks totally different after three years, so I don’t know what it’s going to look like in 15 years,” Peel said.

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Mayor pro-tem Emily Francis preferred the 30-year plan, saying she didn’t see a downside of planning for the bigger option even if it’s not what ends up happening. Ochsner told Francis he believed they could plan for the expansion that would come with the 30-year plan, but not design it out fully, which would allow them to do the less expensive option but still keep land earmarked if they need the additional build at some point.

Prior to this, there had been some talk of utilizing a combined court space with the county, which is also outgrowing its court space, but staff said the county isn’t sure of a timeline and the municipal court wanted to get moving on its plans.

The city's Chief Financial Officer Travis Storin told council members at the December meeting that if they make a $15 million or more investment in the municipal court remodel, “it is the forever home and it would not be something we would revisit when a justice center is expanded … this type of investment would have an air of permanence to it.”

Next steps involve operation services putting out a request for proposal for a design firm to draw up the plans. According to city documents, staff expect an offer for construction costs will be submitted in the budget process for 2025-26.

Molly Bohannon covers city government for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @molboha or contact her at mbohannon@coloradoan.com. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins City Council approves money for municipal court remodel