Now that the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill is scheduled
to open April 6, officials from the city, county, and Superior
Court, as well as downtown businesses, are eager for the
long-awaited list of benefits they expect the new facility to
bring.
Now that the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill is scheduled to open April 6, officials from the city, county, and Superior Court, as well as downtown businesses, are eager for the long-awaited list of benefits they expect the new facility to bring.
The courthouse will feature more courtrooms, more comfort and security for employees and patrons, fewer water leaks and fewer rats than the current temporary facility, which has served the same purpose in San Martin for the last decade.
Supervisor Don Gage noted the courthouse’s plentiful space for parking, as well as its proximity to downtown Morgan Hill and the Caltrain station on Depot Street will be convenient to court patrons and an economic boon to downtown restaurants, and could even attract more businesses such as attorney’s offices.
“And it’s a brand new facility that is going to serve the needs of South County residents for many years to come,” Gage said.
With about 130 full-time employees starting work at the new courthouse, in addition to hundreds of people attending court and paying their traffic tickets daily, downtown business owners are also hoping for a flood of new business. The city of Morgan Hill built a plaza and walkway traversing the two blocks from the courthouse to downtown last year to facilitate such business.
Some of the downtown restaurants have suffered at lunchtime lately due to the economic downturn, and they hope the $52 million (and counting) courthouse will provide a kind of local stimulus.
One of the establishments along the city’s new walkway, next to the Caltrain station on Depot Street, is Ya Bon Espresso. Manager Alika Spencer jumped for joy, literally, when she heard the court facility is finally going to open, five years after construction started.
“We’ve been waiting and waiting,” said Spencer, noting that the shop’s outdoor seating should be a draw for people using the courthouse every day. “It will be nice for people to get out of the building, and come here and take a break.”
Several restaurant owners, through the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, hope to make a coordinated effort to attract people from the courthouse by distributing flyers and menus, and offering lunchtime specials.
“We’re going to do what we can to welcome them with open arms and do something nice,” said Bill Quenneville, co-owner of Hot Java Coffee Shop at the corner of Monterey Road and Second Street.
Some of the lunch vendors have begun preparing for the hoped-for crowds. Trail Dust BBQ plans to offer an office-sized special of 15 sandwiches for the price of 10, and Ragoots has added more items to its takeout menu.
Brad Jones, co-owner of BookSmart, said downtown merchants have discussed organizing community events in the courthouse’s first few weeks of business, installing more signs and directional kiosks on the streets, and even expanding the availability of the free public wireless project.
“It might be a challenge to get people over the (train) tracks. When people get into a new environment it takes time to get them settled and reach out,” Jones said.
The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is also looking forward to the courthouse opening, which will likely also bring more customers to grocery stores and restaurants closer to exits off U. S. 101.
“It will be a great asset. People will get off the highway at Cochrane Road and Dunne Avenue, and see everything we have to offer,” said Chamber President and CEO Chris Giusiana. “Obviously it will increase our tax revenue.”
But the new courthouse is also designed to give people a better experience while they are inside. Santa Clara County Superior Court spokesman Carl Schulhof said the facility will be “a lot more user friendly” than the site on Monterey Road in San Martin, which consists of a cluster of about a half-dozen run-down buildings.
The main courthouse building is 73,000 square feet, with a wide open front lobby lit by sunlight pouring in from large western-facing windows. A spacious jury assembly room and the Clerk of Court’s office are on either side of the lobby.
“It’s designed with at least some (personnel) expansion in the plans. We expect the caseloads to increase over the years because South County is a growing area,” Schulhof said.
Two of the courtrooms are on the ground level, with four more upstairs. Starting the day it opens, the courthouse will process criminal, civil, small claims and traffic cases for residents of Morgan Hill, Gilroy, San Martin and adjacent unincorporated areas. Beginning May 4, family and dependency cases will be heard there, and one of the courtrooms is designed primarily for such cases, Schulhof noted.
The new courthouse is also specifically designed for tight security as well.
“Unlike the other courthouse that was not designed to be a courthouse, we tried to make sure inmate transportation security is at the highest level possible, and inmates are kept away from the public and staff,” Schulhof said.
Inmates arriving for their hearings will be dropped off at a sally-port on the end of the building opposite the main lobby. They will be led down a ramp to the basement, where a dozen holding cells should accommodate enough defendants to conduct multiple trials at once. To get upstairs, inmates will be hoisted by two elevators that lead to the back of the courtrooms, along a hallway that is hidden from public view and contains more holding cells in addition to judges’ chambers, jury deliberation rooms and offices.
And next to the main building is the Justice Agencies Building containing offices for the District Attorney, Public Defender, and Probation Department.
Rosy Bergin, owner of Rosy’s At The Beach in downtown Morgan Hill, used to own a restaurant near the main Santa Clara County Courthouse in San Jose. So she knows what kind of volume the facility could bring at lunch time.
“We got a lot of business from the courthouse, and we’re hoping we have the same dynamics here,” Bergin said.
