Montco Breaks Ground On New Justice Center, Norristown Park

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Hailing it as a seminal moment that was the culmination of years of planning, officials broke ground on the new Montgomery County Justice Center campus and park grounds in Norristown Tuesday morning.

The new 325,000 square foot, six story building will be adjacent to the existing courthouse and will include, once completed, 18 courtrooms and numerous offices.

The new building is just one part of the project, however; the work will also double the size of the existing Hancock Square Park, providing more green public space. In addition, it will modernize and preserve the historic courthouse facility.

“The Justice Center represents years of planning to design a state-of-the-art facility that will meet the County’s needs for the next century and make all justice-related services more accessible to our residents," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said in a statemetn.

Arkoosh added that the work would bring new jobs into the local community "for years to come."

The historic courthouse, which was built in the mid-1800s and restored in 1904, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The project will also demolish the existing parking garages, the Wells Fargo Bank, and the 1967 addition to the courthouse to make way for the new structure. Peter Glasing, the lead architect for the project with the firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, said that the design paid careful attention both to the history of the existing courthouse and the role which the property would play in the future of downtown Norristown.

Hancock Square Park, meanwhile, will be more than doubled in size, growing from 23,000 square feet to 57,000. Current monumnets in the park will be "respectfully incorporated" into reflective spaces, while new native plantings will be added.

Officials also noted the importance of the project for the revitalization of Norristown.

“This project will change the face of Main Street and complement ongoing efforts to bolster the development of downtown Norristown," Montgomery County Commissioner Ken Lawrence said.

Exact timelines have not yet been announced, but previous estimated had construction completed by 2025.