Baltimore needs a new downtown courthouse specifically for criminal cases - at an estimated cost of $135 million - to replace "dysfunctional" facilities in the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse and Courthouse East, according to architects hired to assess physical needs of the Circuit Court system over the next decade.
The consultants recommended that Baltimore's 102-year-old Mitchell Courthouse on North Calvert Street be restored to accommodate civil cases only and that Courthouse East, also on Calvert Street, be converted to offices for the state's attorney and other court functions.
After months of study, the consultants concluded that the Mitchell Courthouse no longer works well for criminal cases and that it would not be cost-effective to renovate it for that purpose. They say problems range from poor air quality and inadequate fire safety systems to lack of separation between judges and defendants in elevators and corridors.
The estimated price tag for a separate criminal courthouse and renovations to the existing court buildings is $293 million, and court representatives have formed a task force to determine how to pay for such an investment.
Ellen M. Heller, administrative judge of the city Circuit Court, said the report confirms what judges and others already suspected - that the Mitchell Courthouse and Courthouse East are unable to meet the pressing needs of the court system.
"We're at a critical point right now," she said. "Time has run out. We're talking about both buildings being fire hazards, about air quality problems, about putting inmates and judges on the same elevator, about courtrooms that aren't suitable for the cases on the dockets. The need is legitimate. I don't know of anyone who doesn't acknowledge the need."
The report was prepared by Richter Cornbrooks Gribble Inc. of Baltimore and Ricci Associates of New York for Maryland's Department of General Services and the Circuit Court for Baltimore City at a cost of $375,000, paid for through state funds.
Three options
During a presentation Friday to a task force headed by Heller, the consultants outlined three scenarios for meeting the space needs of the Circuit Court's criminal and civil divisions. Its juvenile division is moving to a new facility next year.
All three options call for restoring the Mitchell Courthouse exclusively for civil cases and various degrees of expansion to handle criminal cases.
One option calls for "minimal expansion" by concentrating criminal courts in the city-owned Courthouse East building. But that would require the city to find other locations for the offices now there, including the state's attorney and noncourt functions. The plan's estimated cost is $341 million.
A second option calls for vacating Courthouse East and building a 580,000-square-foot complex that would contain criminal courtrooms and office space. The estimated cost is $316 million.
Under the third option, recommended by consultants, Courthouse East would be converted to offices for the court and a 340,000-square-foot criminal courts building would be built nearby.
The consultants said the project is potentially more manageable than the others because it could be completed in phases with incremental costs. In addition, surplus space in the renovated Courthouse East building could be leased to other tenants, creating revenue for the city.
"For those who think these numbers are daunting, yes, they're daunting," said architect Robert Fisch of Ricci Associates. "But you can break it into phases. ... It's done all the time by other cities."
The consultants did not recommend a location for a new courthouse but said it should be close to the existing court facilities and that it would be best to have nearly an acre to build on.
Three parcels mentioned as possible locations were the former site of the Tower Building, now a parking lot at the northwest corner of Guilford Avenue and Baltimore Street; land at the northwest corner of Guilford Avenue and Lexington Street; and the block west of the Mitchell Courthouse, bounded by Fayette, Charles, Lexington and St. Paul streets. City officials tried to acquire the block several years ago for a parking garage but faced strong opposition from private owners and backed off.
The consultants said they do not recommend replacing both the Mitchell Courthouse and Courthouse East because that would cost even more.
They said it is imperative that the Mitchell Courthouse be restored because it is an architectural gem that could still work well for civil cases. They recommend reopening sky-lighted atriums that were filled in decades ago and addressing fire safety and health code issues.
"If we're going to do it, let's do it right," Fisch said. "Let's restore it to the grandeur it once had."
Mayor Martin O'Malley could not be reached yesterday for comment about the report. Neither could Del. Howard P. Rawlings, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, or State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy.
Funding the project
Heller acknowledged that one of the biggest challenges would be identifying a source of funds for such a project, because the city alone probably cannot afford it and the state has a large budget deficit.
Compared with some public projects for which bonds are sold, such as the Camden Yards stadiums or expansion of Baltimore-Washington International Airport, a courthouse would not generate as much revenue to pay the debt service.
Heller said members of her task force are investigating a variety of options, such as getting a private developer to build a new courthouse and then leasing it back.
"There are all kinds of ways out there," she said. "We are trying to find a way that's realistic."
Building support
Heller said the next step will be to publicize the study's findings and attempt to build support for its recommendations among key decision-makers such as O'Malley and Gov.-elect Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
Her task force includes representatives from city and state agencies, as well as groups such as the Downtown Partnership.
Heller said she would like to see additional work done to identify the best site for a new courthouse and an economic analysis to show the project's potential impact on the city, including the number of jobs it would create or help Baltimore retain.
One way to build support for a new courthouse, she said, is to present it as a way to continue the revitalization of downtown Baltimore that began in the 1950s with Charles Center.
Heller said a new criminal court building and the renovated Mitchell and Courthouse East buildings could all be part of an expanded governmental center that also would include City Hall and the Abel Wolman and Charles Benton municipal buildings.
It would be "the largest single investment in the central business district in a long, long time," said Laurie Feinberg, chief of urban design for the city planning department. "It could stabilize the area in a very positive way."