$634 Million State Courthouse Faces Last Hurdle; Modernist Architect Lloyd Ruocco to be Commemorated

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

The design for a new downtown state courthouse in San Diego is close to completion, Signon San Diego reports. It is uncertain whether the $634 million construction will overcome the hurdle represented by the state’s budget problems and be on target for its 2016 completion date.

Clifford Ham, the primary architect for the Administrative Office of the Court, is confident there are plenty of important reasons for the project to advance quickly. He also told redevelopment officials that after analyzing the impact of the new budget realities, a decision regarding the future adaptations of the plan is expected in November.

The 704,0000-square-foot tower will be built just north of the Hall of Justice and it would replace the existing county courthouse complex.

In other news, the San Diego Unified Port District has broken ground on Ruocco Park. The $7.3 million project just north of Seaport Village pays homage to the modernist architect Lloyd Ruocco. His contributions to the San Diego community include the Design Center—a hybrid wood-and-glass office complex in Hillcrest—the Children’s Zoo and the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Located at 585 Harbor Lane near the southwest corner of Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway, the project is expected to be completed next July.

The Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 will also commemorate the architect with a 50th anniversary gala dinner in Balboa Park. The planning group was founded by Ruocco in 1961 and now has about 200 members. The organization has been involved in all major planning and development issues.