Investing in Justice: Courthouse Complex

The nearly 100-year-old building creates structural challenges and impacts court services and outcomes. A handful of challenges include:

• Safety and Security
  • Courtrooms in both the Public Safety Building and in the Historic Courthouse are used to try criminal cases but were not designed for modern needs. This is unsafe and inefficient.
  • The Public Safety Building’s layout does not comply with Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule #68 governing the structure and design of courthouses. There are no secure pathways. Public hallways are used to transport nearly 10,000 in-custody defendants annually.
• Operational and Financial Efficiency
  • 10 floors — nearly 60,000 square feet. including former jail space in the Public Safety Building — are vacant, unusable, and unable to be cost-effectively retrofitted for other purposes.
  • There are concerns around the preservation of evidence, particularly the risk of damage from water intrusion or flooding in the current facility.
• Systems Outcomes and Adaptability
  • There are no dedicated spaces for attorney-client meetings. Anyone can overhear sensitive information.
  • Defendants and attorneys often hold what some call “garbage can meetings” in public hallways, with case materials or laptops perched on the only surface available — the tops of garbage cans.
  • There are insufficient private spaces for survivors, witnesses, and family members to find respite during the potentially traumatic experience of attending or testifying at court proceedings.
  • Proceedings may be delayed or rescheduled due to a number of factors, like in-custody defendant transfers being late due to slow or broken elevators.
  • Jury rooms are uncomfortable and are not temperature regulated, which can interfere with the deliberative process.
• Community Well-Being
  • Community members who visit to access services have a difficult time finding where they need to be in the Public Safety Building and throughout the Courthouse Complex, which can feel like a maze.
  • Insufficient space for supporting programs and services.
• Accessibility and Inclusivity
  • The Courthouse Complex is not Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-friendly.
  • There is insufficient technology to support interpretation and translation services.

A shared investment in a new building will deliver generational improvements to public safety and justice in Wisconsin:

•  Secure corridors will reduce staffing needs for transports by 80% — freeing up nearly 2,100 hours for redeployment to public safety duties.

•  Officers freed from courthouse duty will spend more time in the community — an efficient building means faster processing, fewer court delays, and more officers available where they’re needed most: in the community. 

•  Fewer delays and mistrials will lead to faster, safer, less costly proceedings — a modern facility will reduce security calls, prevent mistrials, and ensure faster and safer proceedings.

•  Taxpayers across Wisconsin will benefit from long-term savings and a stronger justice system — a purpose-built facility will support night court, virtual court, and specialty court operations, reducing backlog, increasing access, and saving money.

Currently, state mandates cost Milwaukee County roughly $284.7 million per year. That’s nearly 80% of Milwaukee County’s local levy — and they’re growing at two times the rate of revenues. Separate from its peers, Milwaukee County is uniquely impacted by mandated services, including providing Highway Patrol services and operating the Community Reintegration Center — the only Wisconsin county required to provide / operate either service. Milwaukee County also operates the largest circuit court in Wisconsin on the State's behalf, processing 111,398 cases in 2024 (more than Brown, Dane, and Waukesha counties combined) and, over the last decade, individuals from every Wisconsin county have been booked in Milwaukee County's jail. 

The outdated Public Safety Building puts public safety and justice at risk, and the State has a unique opportunity to invest in a shared system that serves every Wisconsinite and improves public safety in our communities.

Milwaukee County has reaffirmed its 2018 recommendation to build a replacement for the Public Safety Building on the current building’s site. This approach will allow Milwaukee County to maintain the critical connection between the building and the Criminal Justice Facility, allow for an efficient building layout and construction process, and was determined to be the cost-effective option. The Historic Courthouse will not be demolished as part of this work.

To ensure operations continue uninterrupted throughout construction, Milwaukee County has already begun planning for spaces where some functions and services currently carried out in the Courthouse Complex will be temporarily moved. As temporary spaces are finalized in 2026 and any offices or services are shifted, Milwaukee County will share relevant updates with the community.

Demolition of the existing building is anticipated to begin in 2028, with construction and related Historic Courthouse renovations continuing into 2032.

Additional details about this effort will be shared in the months and years ahead.

No.

As the project continues, updated conceptual design – informed by community and stakeholder priorities – has led to a cost estimate of $897 million, inclusive of planning efforts the County Board has previously committed funding to cover.

Rather than having local taxpayers absorb the full impact, Milwaukee County can save taxpayers more than $400 million by continuing to direct dollars made available through a State budget win in 2025 that reshaped how the State funds mandated public safety services in the city. The County directed $15.8 million of those funds to Courthouse Complex planning in the 2026 budget. During construction, that could mean a local taxpayer savings of more than $94.8 million. If the County continues this approach to pay down debt service related to project bonding, local taxpayers will save an additional $316.4 million.

Delays mean monumental cost increases as inflation continues. Project leaders estimate delays moving forward would further increase the total cost between $3 and $4 million per month. It’s not a question of if Milwaukee County must make these investments, but when.

The $897 million estimate reflects finalized early design concepts and the full scope of the work with inflation and rising construction costs taken into account. It also includes planning efforts the County Board has previously committed funding for.

The cost includes:

• Development of final design and engineering plans (funding previously committed, in part)
• Operations for interim space and service delivery during construction, including short-term leased spaces and renovations to the Historic Courthouse
• Demolition of the existing Public Safety Building structure
• Construction of a new building to replace the Public Safety Building and a new entry to the Courthouse Complex at the Historic Courthouse to enhance safety and align with State Supreme Court Standards for courthouse design
• Construction of a skybridge to connect the new building to the Criminal Justice Facility, and associated upgrades to the Criminal Justice Facility

Planning for this project has lasted more than a decade. Over the years, cost estimates have grown significantly as the scope of the project has been clarified in partnership with the community and experts and as inflation and construction costs have increased.

Without a new building, Milwaukee County will continue to face safety risks, delays, rising costs, and negative public safety impacts across the region. Safety and security issues tied to the building’s layout and structure will continue. Mistrials related to a lack of secured, separated corridors will continue. Backlogs of cases may increase.

Eroding infrastructure and aging systems have led to expensive emergency repairs, and the Courthouse Complex is the single largest cause of deferred maintenance liability in the Milwaukee County capital project backlog. As of 2024, it was estimated that at least $334 million would be required to address deferred maintenance, replace major building systems, and bring the facility into compliance with relevant building codes.

The Public Safety Building is the facility where Milwaukee County delivers many of the services mandated by the state, such as criminal courts, the District Attorney office, public defenders, pretrial services, and more. These services are expected to be housed in the new building.   

A new building is also an opportunity to reimagine how the Courthouse Complex provides resources and programming to those impacted by the justice process. As Milwaukee County works with our community to catalog services and facility needs, judicial system leaders are committed to re-envisioning how the building’s design can complement and support Milwaukee County’s goal to provide justice services and programming with dignity and a human-centered approach for all involved.  

Building a new, modern, and efficient building to replace the Public Safety Building will not create additional arrests or increase incarceration, as there will be no additional jails or bed space in a new building.  

Milwaukee County’s Courthouse Complex is severely outdated and, in some cases, functionally obsolete, presenting numerous challenges. A new building must happen. However, the necessary replacement and renovations within the Courthouse Complex present a unique opportunity to create facilities that are designed with a trauma-informed lens and a restorative, community focus. With intentional design, Milwaukee County strives to improve outcomes for all those who interact with the justice system by reducing future case backlogs, efficiently connecting individuals to necessary services, and providing a safe environment for all. Through these investments, Milwaukee County’s goal is to leverage this as an opportunity to create new facilities that foster greater dignity for those involved in the justice system.