Courthouse ceremony stays tidy

No actual ground was broken Tuesday at the groundbreaking for Coeur d’Alene’s new federal courthouse, though a speaker did joke about bringing in pickaxes to turn the frozen earth.

Officials in suits crowded around a pile of dirt – 20 bags of potting soil hauled in for the ceremony – and held shovels and smiled as pictures were snapped.

Dozens of officials came from as far as Washington, D.C., to attend the groundbreaking. Thick fog at the Boise airport kept several from attending, including scheduled speaker Chief Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers.

U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Larry Boyle spoke on behalf of his fogged-in colleague. Boyle said he appreciates the nostalgic charm of the old cast-stone-and-brick courthouse in Coeur d’Alene but is excited about the new facility set to open in 2008.

“I love holding court there,” he said of the 1928 courthouse. “I love holding trials there. It’s an intimate building. But that’s the problem. It became too small.”

The 53,000-square-foot building planned for 4.7 acres at the corner of Hanley Avenue and U.S. Highway 95 will address two major problems with the existing courthouse: too little space inside, too few parking spots outside.

It also will be more secure than the downtown building, crafted generations before the security concerns of the post-Sept. 11 era.

Boyle said the new building “will probably be the finest courthouse in the state.”

The U.S. General Services Administration, the agency that oversees federal facilities, will lease the new courthouse from JDL Enterprises, which is designing and building it. The courts will share space with the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. attorney’s office and the U.S. Trustees Program.

“The new United States Courthouse’s design is both unique and identifiable,” said John Luger, president of JDL Enterprises. He said the building “is a reflection of stability, integrity and rigor, and recognizes the dignity and prominence of the federal judiciary.”

Though future tenants for the existing courthouse haven’t been announced, GSA Assistant Regional Administrator Robin Graf said the historic building will remain standing.

“I’m glad the building will maintain its integrity,” Mayor Sandi Bloem said. She said she looks forward to the announcement of what’s planned for the space.

The mayor lauded the GSA for selecting a site within the city limits. “This is the city of excellence, and we look for projects that bring us more excellence,” Bloem said. “This is one of those.”