Santa Rosa County Judicial Center Complex

This project will consist of a stand-alone three-story county courthouse of approximately 110,000 gross square feet situated on 19 acres on Avalon Boulevard in Milton. The building will house eight courtrooms, eight judge’s suites and all the necessary support services including a secure holding area for inmates, hearing rooms, a law library, evidence rooms, jury selection and jury deliberation spaces. Also, in the same building will be related departments such as the clerk of courts, courts administration, plus space to support the office of the state attorney and the office of the public defender.

The building structure will be structural steel with an exterior of precast concrete with significant amounts of glass and glazing, while also designed to withstand winds of 140 mph or greater. There will be a two-story lobby at the public entry. The site will include on-site parking and three storm-water retention ponds. The site master plan envisions a future addition to the courthouse and two smaller stand-alone administrative buildings to house the balance of the county court support services (state attorney, public defender, guardian ad litem, and probation.)

Ajax with its experience of 61 years, more than 120 public entity clients, 40 public safety projects totaling over $300 million was selected, along with lead AE partner Sam Marshall Architects and HOK – ranked the #2 government architect in the country. Ajax and SMA have completed several projects together over the years, including the recently completed Okaloosa County Courthouse in August 2018. SMA and HOK also share experiential history with the First Judicial Circuit in Escambia County.