As construction continues on Westminster’s new municipal courthouse, the steel beams and concrete structures rise above the City’s current courthouse complex just to the south. The project at Turnpike Drive and Grove Street, scheduled to be completed in 2027, represents a strategic investment in the future of Westminster. 

To fully understand the City’s need for a future courthouse, it’s necessary to look to the past. In 1961, the City of Westminster opened a new building complex to house City Hall and the Westminster Police Department along Turnpike Drive. Just to the southwest of Federal Boulevard and US Highway 36, the original two buildings were separate from one another. City Hall was defined by a large, circular chamber used for City Council meetings and court proceedings, and the police department building featured a series of underground rooms used as holding cells and a firing range.  

Just 11 years later, in 1972, the City outgrew the complex in its then current configuration. Construction of an additional municipal building doubled the size of City Hall, and just two years after that, the courtyard between the two buildings was filled in to provide for even more space in 1974.  

Westminster kept growing. Eventually, the City constructed its current City Hall building on 92nd Avenue and moved its headquarters there in 1988. Three years later, a final reconfiguration and construction period created the Municipal Courthouse as it exists today. 

In short, the current Municipal Courthouse is a hodgepodge of buildings stitched together over several decades that were never designed with a courthouse in mind. Now, thanks to hard work and collaboration by the City and the surrounding community, the past will inform the future. 

“The new building we’re getting is going to be built with all of the safety, security and conveniences that the public deserves in a municipal facility and a municipal court,” said City of Westminster Court Administrator Brian Poggenklass. 

Among the more modern amenities included in the new courthouse is the capability for remote attendance and livestreaming.  

“Transparency is very important for municipal courts, and the new building is going to be designed so that individuals who aren’t able to come sit in the gallery but have an interest in a case can either participate remotely or observe their case without being physically present in the court,” said City of Westminster Presiding Judge Jason Lantagne. 

The new Municipal Courthouse building will specifically address pitfalls in the current layout: juries will have more secure and private deliberation rooms, opposing parties will have separate, confidential spaces to confer with their clients/witnesses, and critical Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards will be met.  

“What’s critical for the court is that individuals are able to come to this building, accomplish their business in a safe, welcoming, and accessible manner, regardless of whether they’re defendants, witnesses, victims, attorneys, or other members of the public,” Judge Lantagne said. “The replacement Municipal Court project is going to create those accommodations for everyone and ensure that that important business is conducted with dignity, safety and accessibility.” 

For construction updates and more information visit the Municipal Courthouse Project webpage.