Construction for new Indio Juvenile and Family Courthouse underway

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Friday to officially begin construction on the new Juvenile and Family Courthouse that will be located in Indio.

The courthouse is expected to be finished by the Spring of 2024. It will have five courtrooms and in all be 53,255 square feet.

It is replacing the former juvenile courthouse that was built in 1955. A study by the judicial council a few years back showed the current juvenile courthouse in Indio to be the worst one in the state and in the most need of replacement. With it being an old building and having air conditioning issues, the environment wasn't safe according to Riverside Superior Court's Presiding Judge John Monterosso.

When dealing with families, the county wants to have a safe environment to be able to process cases.

Right now family and juvenile cases are being handled at Larson Justice Center. Judge Monterosso said you should not have juvenile matters housed in the same place criminal matters take place.

The new courthouse is expected to be a huge improvement. Riverside County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the country so it believes it needs to be able to expand its presence to serve the people.

In all, it's going to cost over $75 million dollars to build the courthouse.