Kona Judiciary Complex groundbreaking Monday

KAILUA-KONA — For more than 20 years, residents, judges and attorneys have been calling for a new Kona courthouse.

On Monday, the groundbreaking for the $90 million Kona Judiciary Complex will begin at 2:30 p.m. to celebrate seeing that wish turn into reality.

The site of the groundbreaking is located across Makala Boulevard from the Makalapua Center.

The complex will replace three existing courthouses, which are a former hospital, former supply store and a current office building.

People are regularly confused by which court to go to, and deputies have been concerned about providing proper security in the outdated models currently being used. The new facility will pull these different operations together and is intended to provide a safer area.

The courthouse building will be 133,287 square feet, while the central utility plant will add 6,432 square feet. It will have five court rooms, two each for district and family courts and one for family court.

There will also be offices for five judges.

One security improvement will be six holding areas, capable of holding about 40 adults and four juveniles, according to Tammy Mori, which is the judiciary-designated occupant load.

This will get rid of the current system, which has in-custody people kept in old conference rooms or areas similar to the exterior walls of a park restroom.

The building currently has a scheduled completion date of 2019.