STROUDSBURG, Pa. — It's a makeover Monroe County officials have been dreaming about for over a decade, and now construction to expand the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg is finally taking shape.
"We purchased the PNC Bank building that was here on this site, and we had to demolish that. We had to fill it back in. That was the first step, and then we started our foundations, and then we started now with our steel," Monroe County Commission John Christy said.
The expansion will create more room for courtrooms and judges' chambers and space for many departments working out of the courthouse.
Commissioner Christy says the project is needed.
"The annex which is right next door to us has been in place for about 40 years," Christy said. "It was in need of a major overhaul. The systems were failing. We needed to upgrade the HVAC system, the heating system. So by building this addition, we were able to upgrade all the other buildings."
Christy says the county's had its fair share of challenges getting the materials needed for the project.
"The supply chain issues are a problem," Christy said. "We had to wait on steel for here. We have a number of large beams that had to be cantilevered, and so once the beams were built, they had to be shipped to Pittsburgh and put into a press, and the press broke."
Christy says when the project is done, this will be a state-of-the-art courthouse, which he hopes will improve the overall experience here.
"It's a safer area to come. We no longer have people that are in court walk through the hallways. Everybody is in a much better working environment which makes for hopefully better work and happier workers, and it's a better place for the public to come," Christy said.
The entire project is expected to be completed by March 2024.
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