COPs for Justice Center

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has signed SB 206, authorizing $295 million for a new state judicial complex in downtown Denver on the site of the Colorado History Museum, which will move to a nearby site.

The bill authorizes $269 million of certificates of participation, a debt instrument the state has used for previous projects. The rest of the money will come from fees and transfers.

The 615,000-square-foot Ralph L. Carr Justice Center, named for a former governor who fought for the rights of Japanese-Americans interned in the state during World War II, will consolidate the offices of the Colorado Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and attorney general’s office, which are currently scattered around the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The justice complex is expected to open in 2014.

The history museum will be demolished to make way for the new complex near the current Supreme Court building. A new 200,000-square-foot museum will be built a block to the south at a projected cost of $113 million, and open in 2011.

“The existing Supreme Court and History Museum buildings opened more than 30 years ago,” Ritter said in a statement issued upon signing the bill. “They were outdated and obsolete from the day they opened, and they have not aged well since.”

Ritter also signed two other debt-related measures. SB 218 allows colleges and universities to use federal mineral lease revenues and bonus payments for debt service on construction projects. SB 245 allows colleges to use the state’s credit rating to secure lower interest rates for construction loans.

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