BIDDEFORD – The move has begun and by the end of the month, all four state courts in York County will be consolidated under one roof at the new York Judicial Center at 515 Elm St .(Route 1) in Biddeford.

“We have been carefully planning this move for months,” said Julie W. Howard, York County Courts Manager of Operations. “To achieve this goal, court users and attorneys will have access to one or more courts in York County while the move is in process. The York Judicial Center will be fully open to the public by Wednesday, May 3.”

York County Superior Court was to move from the historic county-owned courthouse in Alfred to the new building on April 18 and 19, according to information provided by the Maine Administrative Office of the Courts.

Biddeford District Court was to move from its 25 Adams St location April 24 and 25, and the clerk’s office will be closed during the move. Springvale and York district courts are to close April 28, and will move May 1 and 2. The clerk’s office at York Judicial Center was to close those days except for emergency filings and protection from abuse complaints that cannot be filed by email, court officials said in a news release.

The YJC phone number beginning April 19 will be 283-6000.

The York County Probate Court is a county court and remains at York County Court House in Alfred, along with the registries of probate and deeds, and other county-related functions.

The York County District Attorney’s Office began moving its offices in Alfred, Springvale, York and from the Adams Street location in Biddeford to 208 Graham St. last week. The new location, leased from Biddeford Housing Authority, is about a mile from the new consolidated court building and was expected to open April 17, county officials said.

The new three-story YJC in Biddeford is about 18,000 square feet and has multiple courtrooms, and has been a long time coming. In 2016, the Maine Legislature passed a bill sponsored by former Sen. Linda Valentino, D-Saco, that budgeted $65 million for a new courthouse in York County. In November that year, an 18-person site selection commission made up of members of the judiciary, legislators, law enforcement, attorneys and others chose the Elm Street location from an original slate of 28 possibilities. The state purchased the land from the city of Biddeford for $810,000 in 2017. The foundation was poured in December 2020.

State court officials said the new building will be more efficient for court operations.