Suffolk County to renovate 6th District Court
Nick Anastasi
Suffolk County is spending $2.4 million to redevelop the one- story brick and steel Sixth District Court on West Main Street in the Village of Patchogue.
The current site, which was built in 1983 and measures at 9,384 square feet, will add 6,200 square feet on the south and east sides of the facility.
Suffolk County spokesman Tim Ryan said the renovation of the facility is part of an ongoing county capital improvement program.
The addition to the Patchogue facility is part of an overall renovation of the existing structure that will include two hearing rooms, two examination-before-trial rooms, a jury deliberation room, a child center room, a reconfigured judge’s chambers and an enlarged lobby area. In addition, the building’s heating and ventilation system will be converted from oil to gas fuel and a fire sprinkler system will be added throughout the facility.
The exterior of the courthouse will be upgraded with an overlay stucco-panel system above window level and will be treated with landscaping and walkway areas. About 12 spaces of the courthouse parking lot will be sacrificed. However, county officials said the lot is already oversized for the current use and the loss is not expected to have an impact on parking availability.
The plans for the redesign were drawn up by the Hauppauge-based architectural firm Wiedersum Associates and the construction manager for the project, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2004, is Sullivan & Nichol.
During the construction phase of the project, operations at the Sixth District Court have been temporarily relocated to the county’s Fifth District Court on Veterans Memorial Highway in Ronkonkoma.
According to county officials, the district court system is used for litigation valued up to $15,000, including small claims and landlord tenant disputes.
In a similar instance, the county’s court house in Riverhead is scheduled to undergo what Ryan called a major renovation next spring.
The county will demolish the current courtroom and replace it with nine new ones. It will also add ancillary space and additional parking for a total price tag of $34.5 million for the three-year project.
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