WASHINGTON, DC — Within President Trump’s first proposed federal budget is a General Services Administration request for $137,242 thousand in additional funding for the construction of a new U.S. Courthouse of approximately 243,000 gross square feet (GSF), including 43 inside parking spaces, in Harrisburg. The funding is part of a total $10.5 billion request for infrastructure, security, and technology systems improvements nationwide.
The Harrisburg federal courthouse project that GSA proposes will meet the 10-year space needs of the court and court-related agencies, and the site will accommodate the anticipated 30-year needs of the court. The Judiciary’s Courthouse Project Priorities list approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States on September 13, 2016 included a courthouse project in Harrisburg.
The existing U.S. Courthouse, constructed in 1966, does not meet the United States Courts Design Guide standards, and lacks adequate security. The existing building configuration cannot provide secure circulation for judges without traveling into common hallways. Due to lack of suitable expansion space in the federal building, several courtrooms have been constructed with columns which obstruct views within the courtrooms. The new courthouse will provide for a single location for court operations and separate circulation for the public, judges, and detainees, thereby improving security as well as efficiency of court operations.
The Fiscal Year 2018 request is for Construction ($123,565 thousand) and Management and Inspection ($13,677 thousand.
The site of the new federal courthouse is at 6th and Reily Streets. The plan has been in the works since 2004, when $26 million was allocated to design a building and acquire the property to build it.