Challenging site conditions and longer-than-anticipated permitting and design process have delayed the timeline and raised costs for the Deschutes County Courthouse expansion construction project in downtown Bend. County facilities officials updated a subcommittee on the project last week in preparation to ask the Deschutes County Commission for a nearly $3 million budget increase, which would bring total costs to $46.8 million. The board will likely vote on the budget Jan. 29.

The county has been publicizing an estimated completion date of summer 2026 for “quite some time,” and that hasn’t changed, according to Deschutes County Facilities Director Lee Randall. The project’s original timeline was extended by six months because of delays in the permitting and design process, Randall said.

Now, project managers are estimating that those delays — plus remedies for unstable soils and other required design revisions — will cost the county an extra $2.9 million.

Total project cost estimates had already risen from $40 million in January 2023 to $44 million in 2024.

In February, the county agreed to a contract with Pence Construction that capped the maximum construction costs at $37 million, with “soft costs” making up the rest of the total. According to Randall, the added costs are outside the scope of the contract, meaning the county is on the hook.

Randall said the recommended course of action is to use some of the $1.6 million in project contingency funds set aside for overruns, and draw from reserves in the county’s campus improvements fund.

The project is funded by a mix of sources: $15 million from the Oregon Legislature, $5 million of the county’s federal American Rescue Plan Act allocation, $2 million from the Oregon Judicial Department and $20.5 million in county debt financing.

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Deschutes County courthouse expansion promises space, efficiency

Costs are on par with other major courthouse construction projects across Oregon, according to a Sept. 2024 internal audit produced by Deschutes County. Per square foot, construction costs are slightly higher than Crook County’s new $50 million justice center, which opened in September. But Deschutes County’s project is relatively cheaper than Multnomah County’s $324 million expansion, completed in 2017, when scaled for size and inflation.

The audit noted that the facilities department followed many best practices but ran into delays in the preconstruction portion of the project.

“These delays could have been better anticipated and managed more effectively if the department had adopted a structured framework, policies, and procedures,” the audit said.

A Deschutes County Courthouse expansion has been anticipated for more than 20 years. The three-story expansion will double the size of the courthouse, adding 51,000 square feet — including courtrooms, administrative space, security refinements and better holding, transport and custody facilities — promising to usher in a new era of functionality for the courthouse.

Construction began in May. Crews have already completed the foundation, utilities, plumbing and other surface-level and underground work. With the help of a towering ballasted crane, construction recently began going vertical, with work beginning on stairs and elevators.

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Cranes giving Bend construction a lift

The tight corner of Greenwood Avenue and Bond Street is a logistically tricky construction site, Randall said.

“We’re going to continue to face typical challenges for a major construction project that’s in the downtown area,” he said.

The project is 30% complete, including pre-construction work, Randall said. Construction itself is 15-20% complete.

County Commissioner Patti Adair expressed concern that more cost overruns might be coming.

“Can you really tell me that it’s only the $2.9 million over budget today? Honestly, it doesn’t sound like we really know,” she said.

Final costs won’t be certain until the project is complete, according to the audit. But the risk for hiccups diminishes as the project progresses, Randall said. He said he’s confident the county can get by on contingency funds.

“We’re in a much better position in terms of knowing what’s there and what challenges we might face than we were a year ago, and that position will continue to improve,” Randall said.