Groundbreaking ceremony set for new Los Banos courthouse

Merced County officials will break ground later this month on a new multimillion-dollar courthouse in Los Banos, Superior Court officials announced Thursday.

“The new courthouse will replace the current obsolete and overcrowded Los Banos facility with a new, full-service courthouse for west Merced County residents,” court officials said in a news release.

The new, roughly 29,000 square-foot, two-courtroom courthouse is part of the so-called Gateway Center, which will also host county and city government buildings, officials said.

The project comes with a price tag of more than $32.5 million, the court’s chief executive officer, Linda Romero Soles, has said.

The new courthouse is funded through trial court user fees approved by Senate Bill 1407, officials said.

Groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. June 19 at 1159 G St. in Los Banos.

The ceremony will include remarks by Merced Superior Court Presiding Judge Brian L. McCabe and San Diego Superior Court Judge Kenneth K. So, both members of the Judicial Council, the policymaking body for the statewide court system.

This event is open to the public. Those needing accommodation due to a disability, such as listening assistance or a sign language interpreter, are requested to contact the Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator at (209) 725-4135 at least 48 hours in advance of the event.

This story was originally published June 4, 2015 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Groundbreaking ceremony set for new Los Banos courthouse."