Columbus judicial center nears completion after $207.5 million project

Columbus’ new John D. Allen Judicial Center is nearing completion, with exterior construction more than 95% finished and interior systems and finishes underway, according to city project updates.

The 342,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed in 2026, with local television reporting placing construction completion in September. The city’s FY2025 financial report documents the project cost at $207.5 million. The center is being built across from the existing Government Center and is intended to replace the more than 50-year-old facility as the home for several major court and legal operations.

Construction remains on schedule

A Columbus City Council project update presented March 31, 2026, said the judicial center was on schedule for completion in 2026. It reported that the building’s exterior skin was more than 95% complete and that installation of finishes and interior systems was continuing.

WTVM reported July 23 that city officials expected the building to be complete in September. The report also cautioned that employees would not be able to move in immediately after construction is finished.

The project remains under construction. No confirmed public opening date, court-relocation schedule or move-in date has been established in the records reviewed for this article.

Courts and legal offices planned for the facility

The city’s financial report says the center is planned to house Superior Court, State Court, Probate Court, Municipal/Magistrate Court, Juvenile Court and Accountability Court. It also lists the District Attorney’s Office, Solicitor General’s Office, Public Defender, Clerk of Superior Court and State Court, and Municipal Court among the planned occupants.

For residents, the eventual move could change where people report for hearings, filings, clerk services and other legal matters. Those changes will not take effect until city and court officials announce specific relocation, parking, security and public-access procedures.

A major public-finance project

The city’s FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report documents the judicial center at $207.5 million and describes its size, planned occupants and 2026 completion schedule. WTVM has separately described the project as costing more than $200 million.

Columbus City Council minutes from Aug. 26, 2025, show that council approved issuance of the remaining $50 million from a previously authorized $200 million general-obligation bond program connected to the 2021 SPLOST. The minutes state that $150 million of that authorization had been issued in 2022 and that the remaining $50 million was sought to complete the judicial-center project.

That financing authorization is part of the project’s broader funding history. It should not be presented as an additional $50 million on top of the city’s separately documented $207.5 million project cost without further accounting detail.

What residents should watch for next

The next public milestones are likely to include confirmation of substantial completion, an opening or dedication date, court-by-court relocation plans, parking information, security procedures and instructions for public access.

For now, court services have not been documented as having moved from the Government Center. Residents with scheduled court or clerk business should continue following existing official instructions until Columbus and court officials announce a change.

When the judicial center becomes operational, it will mark a major change in how Columbus houses court and related government services. The project’s immediate next step is finishing the building and establishing how employees and the public will transition into it.

Sources

• Columbus Consolidated Government FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report
• Columbus City Council Judicial Center Update
• Columbus’ new John D. Allen Judicial Center nears completion
• Columbus City Council meeting minutes, August 26, 2025