U.S. General Services Administration
Groundbreaking Marks Start of Construction for New U.S. Courthouse in Huntsville
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Sept. 19 to mark the beginning of construction on the new federal courthouse in Huntsville, Alabama. The event was held at the site of the new courthouse at 660 Gallatin Street in Huntsville.
The ceremony, led by the Honorable C. Lynwood Smith Jr. , U.S. District Judge of the Northern District of Alabama, included comments from U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Deputy Commissioner of the General Services Administration's (GSA) Public Buildings Service Allison Azevedo, and the Honorable Liles C. Burke, U.S. District Judge of the Northern District of Alabama. The invocation was provided by Rev. Don Darius Butler, pastor of the First Missionary Baptist Church.
Keynote speaker Shelby said that Huntsville, with its large federal presence, needs this new courthouse. “It’s about justice, it’s about the rule of law, it’s about addressing grievances and everything that goes with it,” said Shelby. “You are going to have something that’s going to be here for a long time and it’s a heck of a location.”
The new Huntsville courthouse will be just one of more than 8,000 federally-owned and leased assets managed by GSA. “We house more than 1.1 million federally employees. We have an impact on the people who come to work in these federal buildings and courthouses, as well as the public who visits them” said Azevedo. “Their safety and security is of paramount interest to us.”
The 123,100-gross-square-foot building will house the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama. It will include five courtrooms and six judges' chambers and will provide workspace for several other federal agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the U.S Probation and Pretrial Services, and will include 26 secured parking spaces.
“This new courthouse in Huntsville is one of several courthouses underway in the Southeast Sunbelt Region,” said Kevin Kerns, Acting Regional Administrator for GSA’s Region 4. “Projects like this require a great deal of planning and coordination by GSA employees. It’s always exciting to break ground because I know how much time, work, and energy work has gone into the planning.”
Construction is expected to be complete in Summer 2024.