Otero County makes plans for new district courthouse construction
The Otero County Commission unanimously approved an agreement on March 21 with the 12th Judicial District Court to build a new courthouse.
In December 2022 Commissioners approved the construction of a new district courthouse. An estimated cost of $25 to $30 million was cited for the initial project, according to proposal.
Otero County signed a contract with ASA Architects from Las Cruces, New Mexico to design the new courthouse.
The proposal placed the new courthouse facility on the opposite side of the Charlie T. Lee relief route and directly north of Mesa Verda Ranch Road.
"The specific location would depend on the amount of space needed," stated the proposal.
Robert Price, vice president and principal architect on the project, anticipated the building would be approximately 45,000 square feet with four courtrooms and two hearing rooms, and with space for administrative services and security.
Commissioner Amy Barela was the only member of the Commission to question the estimated $30 million agreement.
"I'm just wondering if we're going to be able to stay in budget," Barela said, noting she was not on the County Commission when the original project was approved by the then-Commission made up of John Hostetler, Rob Oquist, and Jim Baldwin.
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County manager Pamela Heltner said as the project is in the preliminary design phase, it would be difficult to pinpoint a budget, but hoped the budget would not become a challenge.
Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on twitter at @Juan36Corr.
This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Otero County makes plans for new district courthouse construction
