OCEAN COUNTY – Drivers are sure to see that work is progressing on the new County Justice Complex Annex on Hooper Avenue near Madison Avenue in downtown Toms River.
Steel is expected to be delivered this month as work to build the structure’s steel framing continues, according to Matthew Mulkeen, Senior Associate for Clarke Caton Hintz, the project’s architect.
He recently gave an update to the Ocean County Board of Commissioners. He said concrete foundations, columns, and slabs were completed at the northeast portion of the construction site and work is progressing at the southwest half of the site.
“Once the steel has been installed, all the trades will follow closely behind rapidly increasing activity on site,” Mulkeen added.
A primary feeder relocation by Jersey Central Power & Light Company is expected to begin this month while the steel framing is being fabricated offsite and will be brought to the site.
Commissioner Director John Kelly, who serves as liaison to the courts remarked, “Ocean County has seen a need for quite a while now for security upgrades and operational efficiencies for the courts and related services.”
The construction follows extensive renovations to the current Justice Complex that added more offices and courtroom space.
Kelly added, “our overall goal is to create a building that is functional, cost effective and right-sized. We are building what we need. The project design advantages include a single secure entrance and screening location and separated circulation for the public, judges and prisoners, giving us the opportunity to solve one of our biggest problems which is the movement of people in the facility.”
The new four-story Justice Annex building is approximately 155,000 gross square feet which will connect directly into the existing Ocean County Justice Complex at 120 Hooper Avenue, the Ocean County Parking Garage across Hooper Avenue, and the existing Ocean County Jail.
The building will serve as the central security screening and entrance to the entire justice complex and will consist of eight new criminal courtrooms, jury assembly, and holding cells to streamline criminal trials and plan for future expansion.
Offices will be consolidated within the building for Trial Court Administration, Probation, Finance, and Criminal Court Offices. There will also be two separate parking garages.
An annex for the Ocean County Justice Complex is being built. (Photo by Chris Lundy)
As a safety enhancement, the Superior Court Judges will arrive to a secure parking garage and are provided direct dedicated circulation to their chambers and courtrooms.
Kelly noted, “this enhances security and safety for everyone using the facility.” He added that while the Superior Courts are a function of state government, the county is responsible for the facilities they are based in.
Members of the public will access the building by using the overhead walkway across Hooper Avenue that is attached to the Ocean County Parking Garage. The walkway is also undergoing extensive renovations as part of the work.
It was also noted that the new construction consolidates court facilities into fewer buildings “ultimately, providing a reduction in building leases,” Kelly said.
“In order to meet the needs of the court system, we have relied on rentals or leases of space around the downtown area. We had family courts, probation services, and even a criminal court scattered among more than a dozen buildings in Toms River,” Kelly said.
Mulkeen said the building should be enclosed by January of 2026 at which time interior work will move forward and furnishings and equipment will move in around August of 2026.
While some of the Commissioners questioned if the building would be delivered on time, the Board was assured that any delays would be made up as work progresses.
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