PANAMA CITY — After years of planning, Bay County officials broke ground on a $12.5 million, 50,000-square-foot courthouse annex at a ceremony Tuesday.
The gathering of county commissioners, judges and other representatives in attendance agreed the project is one that has been a long time coming.
Judge Hentz McClellan said the need for space has existed for more than two decades.
“We began this project six years ago, but the need for additional space in the Bay County Courthouse has been showed by studies that go back to 1990,” McClellan said. “This project finally addresses those needs.”
The new annex, located next to the Bay County Courthouse in downtown Panama City, will add six new courtrooms and additional office space.
McClellan said the additional courtrooms will allow greater flexibility in scheduling trials and court proceedings.
The Bay County Courthouse’s three courtrooms are currently shared by 10 judges, whose caseloads greatly outweigh the facility’s capacity. Last year, the courthouse processed more than 60,000 criminal, civil and traffic cases.
“As caseloads have grown and the number of trials has increased over the years, the lack of courtrooms has impeded the ability of judges to timely resolve cases,” McClellan said. “The end result will be faster resolution of cases here in Bay County.”
Commission Chair George Gainer thanked the many parties that helped make the project possible, including the judges, the county staff, contractors and the Panama City Commission, which aided in the financing process.
“It took a spirit of real cooperation,” Gainer said.
Bay County Commissioner Guy Tunnell said the current courthouse is one of the oldest in the state, and referenced the famous Gideon Trial that took place there in the 60s.
“Certainly the history of this location is extremely rich and important not just to Bay County, but to the entire country,” Tunnell said. “We’re confident that the building we’ve designed as an addition to our historical courthouse will pay homage to that history.”
Construction on the annex will begin in about a month and will take about 18 months to complete.
“This county commission is very appreciative and gracious of how accommodating the judges have been throughout this long and sometimes difficult process,” Tunnell said.