BIDDEFORD – The new judicial center project for York County had been delayed, but is now back on track, said the state’s court administrator.

Still, the construction start for the new York Judicial Center on Route 1 in Biddeford is expected to be several months away.

State Court Administrator James T. Glessner said a ground breaking is expected in the spring of 2020, with a view to completion of the new, consolidated court in the summer of 2022.

“The project is moving ahead and healthy and things are in good shape,” said Glessner on Friday. “We did experience delays.”

The Maine Legislature passed a bill sponsored by former Sen. Linda Valentino, D-Saco, in 2016 that budgeted $65 million for the new York County Courthouse.

Since the project was initially funded, both materials costs and labor costs have increased, and adjustments have had to be made, Glessner said.

While initially there was talk of 12 to 15 courtrooms, the projection is now 11 or 12. He said there have been a number of ideas discussed for the facade of the structure, along with designs for waiting areas and more. A mediation suite has been factored in.

“We’ve had to make some adjustments, but nothing that hurts the quality of the project,” said Glessner. “We’re on track and moving ahead.”

Originally projected to be 130,000 square feet, he said the current design is between 105,000 and 110,000 square feet.

In November 2016, an 18-person site selection commission made up of members of the judiciary, legislators, law enforcement, county officials, attorneys  and others chose the location, known locally as the former Pate property, owned by the City of Biddeford.

Biddeford City Council sold the parcels at 511-515 Elm St., and an adjacent parcel at 384 Hill St., to the Maine Governmental Facility Authority for $810,000 in April 2017.

Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio, a Sanford Democrat who was a member of the Site Selection Commission for the project, said costs, among other issues, were factors in the delays.

“Costs went up,” said Mastraccio on Monday. “And I think politics got in the way of this moving along.”

The court consolidation means the York County Superior Court, which sits at the county-owned York County Court House in Alfred,  and the district courts in state-owned facilities in Biddeford, Springvale and York, will move to the York Judicial Center. The approach follows efforts in other Maine jurisdictions to bring the courts together in one location where possible, with the goal of increasing efficiency.

In the fall of 2018,  test wells for the new building’s geo-thermal heating and cooling system were to be installed at the site.

Last year, the state retained a construction management firm, Consigli, which has offices in seven states, including Maine, to manage the construction of the York Judicial Center and make sure the project remains within budget, said Elaine Clark, the Maine Judicial Branch’s spokeswoman at the time. The company has prior courthouse experience in Maine, including the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta and the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor.

Last week, a bill that would have provided a mechanism for York County government to build an adjacent office building to house the York County District Attorney’s staff failed. It would have seen the state borrow up to $6 million on behalf of the county and would have required that the three state-owned district court buildings be turned over to the county, which planned to sell them to pay back the bond.

Currently the district attorney’s main office, which includes prosecutors and support staff – about 40 people in all – is at the York County Court House in Alfred, which is 12 miles from the site of the new courthouse.

Mastraccio said she plans to meet with Rep. Ryan Fecteau, D- Biddeford, to discuss whether there is something that can be done legislatively to find a solution for the district attorney’s office.

“The judicial system needs to work in an efficient manner,” she said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.