Replacement County Courthouse Foundation Taking Shape in Oregon City

This summer, construction of the long-overdue replacement county courthouse has focused on the foundation of what will eventually be a 215,000 square-foot courthouse on the County’s Red Soils Campus in Oregon City.

Foundational walls and columns are going up with concrete pours happening on the building’s first few floors. When completed in 2025, the replacement courthouse will feature 14 courtrooms, 20 judicial chambers, numerous safety and capacity upgrades and office space for the Clackamas County District Attorney.

The replacement courthouse will also provide improved detainee transfer facilities, spaces for jury assembly and grand juries, safer corridors for courthouse users and secure holding cells for violent offenders.

The current courthouse was built in 1936 to serve a population of less than 50,000. It can no longer adequately serve a population of 420,000, which can lead to delays in justice.

This historic project will not require any new taxes. It also marks the first time in Oregon history that a courthouse is being delivered through a public-private partnership (P3). The county’s comprehensive analyses of alternatives confirmed the P3 approach to be the most cost-effective, lowest-risk plan.

The project team carefully reviewed where costs could be contained and made a number of decisions to keep the cost of construction as low as possible. Clackamas County can provide documentation of these decisions.