After decades of trying, Multnomah County opens a $324 million new, spacious, seismically safer courthouse

Regulars at the old Multnomah County Courthouse knew that if they turned on the bathroom faucets first thing on a Monday morning, they should expect a torrent of rusty, orange-hued water.

Long-time staff just might have been unlucky enough to learn firsthand what it was like to experience a pipe bursting above their workspaces, flooding their desks and files with dirty water.

But the greatest worry had always been the building’s structural safety and how its 106-year-old unreinforced masonry walls would hold up when the Big One hits.

This past week, the old courthouse on Southwest Fourth Avenue closed its doors to the public for the last time. On Monday, a new courthouse four blocks away will open for business to enormous elation from county and state officials who worked for decades on making it a reality.

Officials say it’s not only a place for courthouse staff, prosecutors and other lawyers, it’s a venue for the general public to conduct a range of business, including paying parking tickets, disputing speeding tickets, filing small claims, hashing out landlord tenant disagreements, appearing as plaintiffs, defendants or witnesses in trials or serving as a juror. One in 10 Multnomah County residents receives a jury summons each year, officials say.

""It’s not always a pleasant experience going to the court, but at least we can make it less unpleasant and perhaps more user friendly," said Stephen Bushong, presiding judge of Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Here are some answers to questions you might have about the new central courthouse:

Why build a new courthouse? Why not just fix up the old one?

The county assessor’s office figured the building was worth $40 million. County officials estimated it’d cost another $70 million to upgrade the building to better withstand a strong earthquake.

Even with those upgrades to the old courthouse, county officials believe the new courthouse will be far better equipped to survive a big earthquake of the magnitude expected from the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the next 50 years.

But besides earthquake safety, officials say it was time for a new courthouse because the old one had simply become less functional in many other ways.

For one, the building was far too small. In the past century, the county’s population has tripled in size to more than 800,000 residents and the demands on the courthouse have, too.

The old eight-story courthouse is 295,400 square feet, according to county property records. The new 17-story one is 464,700 square feet -- or 57% larger.

It’s worth noting, however, that even though the new building is much bigger, it didn’t check all of the boxes on the courthouse community’s list. While the entire Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office is housed within the new courthouse, public defenders didn’t get to relocate there. Some will have to schlep their case files farther from their existing offices to get to the new courthouse, which is located on the west end of the Hawthorne Bridge.

Public defenders, however, will have some space set aside to privately meet with clients and access computers.

How much did the new building cost?

The total price tag ended up at $324.5 million.

Of that, the state paid $125 million and the county paid $199.5 million through bonds, the sale of the old courthouse and some “one-time-only funding” from the board of commissioners, said county spokesman Mike Pullen.

On top of that, the furniture cost $7.9 million -- $5.7 million from the state and $2.2 million from the county.

What were some of the problems with the old courthouse’s size and design?

The old courthouse was a few courtrooms short of providing each of the 38 elected judges their own courtroom, so the newest judges used other judge’s courtrooms when they were vacant. The new courthouse has 44 courtrooms, enough for all the elected judges to have their own courtrooms plus judicial referees to use four of the largest courtrooms for traffic, parking, landlord-tenant and small claims disputes.

Another problem: The old courthouse lacked private spaces for attorneys to discuss their cases with their clients, so they often spoke in the hallways where passersby could overhear. The new courthouse has private rooms for them to talk.

The old courthouse also had five elevators -- four for the public. That sometimes was a source of impatience for those queuing up for their turn. The new courthouse has 10 elevators -- six for the public; two for deputies to transport jailed defendants; one for judges so they won’t have to ride with someone who’s out of custody and they might have just sentenced; and one that will be used as a service elevator.

Another complaint was the old building was difficult for wheelchair users to navigate. The front stairs meant they had to enter through a backdoor ramp, after pressing a call button and waiting for someone to let them in. In some courtrooms, the spaces between aisles or benches were also tough to maneuver.

Were there other safety concerns about the old courthouse?

The sheriff’s office had learned to adjust to the building, but it wasn’t ideal. Shackled criminal defendants rode the public elevators and walked the public halls to and from courtrooms, raising concerns by defense attorneys that jurors might see a defendant in handcuffs and become biased.

There were also safety concerns for defendants considered higher risk, like double murder MAX train defendant Jeremy Christian, who prompted a team of deputies to clear the halls before walking him to or from his courtroom a few times a day for a few weeks.

At the new courthouse, deputies will escort jailed defendants into and out of courtrooms through secure, back hallways that the public can’t access. Judges and court staff also have the choice of entering the courtrooms through these hallways.

Deputies also will transport jailed defendants to and from the courthouse by driving transport vans into a sally port and moving defendants into or out of the vans only after the secure sally port doors close. That’s a big improvement from the old courthouse, where deputies parked transport vans on the public street then escorted shackled defendants out onto the public sidewalk and into the courthouse.

Also, in some of old courthouse’s smaller courtrooms, witnesses had to awkwardly squeeze by defendants to get to the stand. Defendants also might sit just a few feet from jurors who were deciding their fates.

Bushong, the presiding judge, said he remembers a criminal case in his former tiny seventh-floor courtroom with a “pretty high strung defendant. ... He sat at counsel table and the juror at the end of the jury box was about an arm’s length away from him, which made me very nervous. We won’t have those issues in the new courthouse.”

How will the user experience differ?

The inconveniences of the old courthouse were apparent before the public even stepped through its front doors. Often, a rain-soaked crowd of jurors and others would form a long line on the sidewalk out front, waiting to get in on weekday mornings. On exceptionally busy days, the wait could exceed a half hour.

The new courthouse has a covered entrance to keep visitors dry.

Once through the metal detectors at the old courthouse, visitors trying to slip back on belts or shoes would clog up the lobby’s flow. The new courthouse’s lobby is far larger and includes seating so visitors can comfortably adjust belts or slip back on shoes without feeling rushed by the people entering the courthouse after them.

Next, visitors will encounter airport style kiosks that list court hearings and rooms and touch screens that can offer them directions.

Outside the courtrooms, visitors can admire the picture-perfect views of Mount Hood off in the distance. Even the staircase up to the 17th floor -- that trial court administrator Barb Marcille says takes about 10 minutes to walk up -- is graced with a gorgeous northern view of the Willamette River.

In contrast, the new courthouse is a bit of a downgrade for judges. Judges' chambers are nearly identical in size and design, furnished with basic chairs and desks and have no mountain view. They arguably lack much of the character of judges' chambers at the old courthouse. The new chambers also don’t have private restrooms attached to them, and judges will share restrooms with other court staff.

“The best parts of the building are for the public, not for the judges, not for the staff,” Bushong said. “The courthouse is there to serve the public.”

What’s different about the courtrooms?

While the new courtrooms lack the historic character of the old ones, the new courtrooms feature clean lines and were designed for today’s functional needs. Attorneys can charge laptops or phones in outlets embedded in counsel tables. Wall-mounted screens will allow jurors and others to view videos or other evidence presented during trials.

The witness box is situated directly across from the witness stand, so jurors have a direct view of witnesses as they testify.

The judge also will be able to activate a white noise button when lawyers gather around the bench and have confidential conversations with the judge that they don’t want others in the courtroom to hear.

What will happen to the old building?

The development company NBP Capital bought the old courthouse in 2018 and has plans to retrofit the structure for earthquakes and then turn it into a mixed used development.

According to the company’s website, the plans haven’t been solidified. But it could encompass “(f)ood and beverage, retail, event space and creative offices.” The developers want to keep the grand facade and some of the “significant historic elements,” including the central marble staircase that connects the first six floors. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

What about COVID-19 concerns?

Because of COVID-19, there was no good-bye ceremony on Tuesday, the last day the old courthouse was in operation. There also will be no grand opening ceremony for the new courthouse.

Although 300 people are expected to work in the new building after the pandemic, the numbers will continue to be greatly reduced while many work at home during the pandemic.

Circuit courts across the state have drastically scaled back operations. In Multnomah County, only two felony jury trials have been held since the court reduced operations more than six months ago. In 2018, the latest year for which data is available, there were about 60 felony jury trials per month in Multnomah County.

Because it might be a while before the public steps inside the new building, court officials have made videos of its interior available here and here.

Judge Nan Waller said she will miss the old courthouse even though she was among a group who’d worked to get lawmakers in Salem to fund the new construction.

“After working for years on the new courthouse I am surprised how sentimental and sad I have been over the last few days," Waller wrote. "The last time walking in, my last hearing and finally, a few minutes ago, the last time walking out.”

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee