Less than a year after signing the comprehensive agreement for the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach, California, the Project Team began placing structural steel for the new Court Building. Members of the AOC, the Los Angeles Superior Court, and several other state and local officials gathered with the project team on December 16, 2011 to sign the ceremonial first steel column before it was raised and set on the new foundation. The event was highlighted by speeches by Former Governor George Deukmejian, the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County; Lee Smalley Edmon, Interim Administrative Director of the Courts; Ronald G. Overholt, AOC; and Stephen Reinstein, CEO of Long Beach Judicial Partners, who each shared their excitement over the progress of this iconic facility. Fast-track design and construction, used in conjunction with the performance based infrastructure contracting method, has allowed construction to commence while design of the building continues. Through the efforts of the AOC, Superior Court, City of Long Beach, Clark, Edgemoor, Johnson Controls, AECOM, and other specialty consultants, and trade and craft unions, the project reached this critical milestone on time, setting steel on the exact day that it was planned for one year ago. In the past year, the team has completed the building’s design, relocated thousands of feet of existing utilities, excavated the Court Building’s basement, constructed the building’s foundation and basement walls, and seismically up-graded the existing parking structure. The Performance Based Infrastructure model will provide enhanced operations for the Superior Court’s commitment to uninterrupted access to Justice.
