Old Monterey County courthouse renovation completed

A major renovation project in the heart of Salinas has wrapped up.

It was that massive construction project that really messed up traffic on Alisal and Church Streets in Salinas for over a year.

Now that the project is over, the roads are back open and we got a chance to see what it looks like before the district attorney’s office starts moving in.

It’s the East-West Wing building, but many people remember it as the old Monterey County courthouse.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a building of significance for its architecture and artwork. That’s something modern day planners thought about during the $40 million remodel.

The old Monterey County courthouse was built more than 80 years ago when President Franklin Roosevelt instituted the new deal. At one point it housed pretty much every Monterey County department.

Assistant County Administrative Officer, Dewayne Woods said, “Some of the DA, the assessor, some of the courts were here, the courts collections and fines collections, the treasure tax collector used to be house here.”

Over time other buildings were constructed and departments moved out, including the Monterey County District Attorney’s office, which relocated to modular buildings behind the north wing.

After 14 years of being in the portables, it’s time to move back in.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am for my staff. They’re hardworking and when they get stuck with rodents and floods like that, they can tend to feel devalued and that’s wrong. We just got to let them know that they are very important, that they deserve the best that the county can give them,” said Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo.

The DA’s office takes up the west wing with secure spaces for prosecutors, investigators and witnesses. Some of the rooms were named after people considered important to the District Attorney’s Office, including a law library named after a late chief assistant, a conference room named after late Deputy District Attorney Marie Aronson and the Bill Kurtis room, named after the district attorney who hired Flippo.

The remodel, which took more than a year, involved interior demolition work and historic window replacements.

The east wing of the building will house the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury, the public law library and a cafe, all open to the public.

A lot of work was also done to the courtyard, nestled between the buildings.

“Knowing that this space is open for the public to enjoy, to the community to come and be a part of this courtyard and this history with the artwork that surrounds some of the courtyard by far, is the most grand aspect of this project,” said Woods.

Flippo, who said he has spent 20 years in a windowless office, said he’s got a few months to enjoy his new workspace, before he retires in January.

“I once said I would not retire until I had my whole office under one roof. And it’s taken a long time,” Flippo said.

The DA’s office is moving in at the end of the week. The portables will be removed at the end of the month. No word what will happen to the property, whether it stays in a park like setting or becomes a parking lot.