Officials plan Palmer Courthouse expansion as caseloads swell
The courthouse is one of the busiest in the state and needs room for more judges, officials said.
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What you need to know:
- Alaska state court officials are seeking $22.2 million in state funding to add three new courtrooms, offices and judges’ chambers to the Palmer Courthouse. The project would also add an enclosed second-floor shell on top of a portion of the new expansion for finishing later.
- The expansion is needed because of the current large caseload at the courthouse and the region’s growing population.
- Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s FY 2026 budget does not include funding for the expansion. Securing money for the project is a budget priority for state Sen. Shelley Hughes, who represents Palmer.
PALMER – A major expansion planned for the Alaska State Courthouse in Palmer would add courtrooms and chambers for more judges, an update court officials say is desperately needed to accommodate the region's growing population and caseload.
The project would be the courthouse's first expansion since 2008, when a $5.3 million project added about 15,000 square feet.
If approved as part of the state's fiscal year 2026 budget, the new $22.2 million expansion would add about 17,000 square feet, including three courtrooms, bringing the total to 11, and space for three additional judges and their support staff, according to Alaska Court System officials. It would take up to four years to complete, according to project documents.
The expansion would also include a 9,900-square-foot second-story shell built over the new addition. That floor would be ready for interior finishes as part of a future, as-yet unplanned project and could accommodate up to nine additional courtrooms, according to a project master plan published in early 2023.
“We all know that the Mat-Su area is the fastest-growing population in the state. The Palmer courthouse already doesn't have enough room for the judges who are there,” Alaska Chief Justice Susan Carney told lawmakers during a State of the Judiciary address Wednesday. “Palmer Superior Court judges have the highest per judge caseload of any judges in the state. We need more judges to serve the Mat-Su, but we need a place to put them.”
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Last year about 2,700 new filings were split among four Superior Court judges assigned to Palmer, or about 660 cases per judge, according to state court system data. The average caseload per judge statewide is 459, court officials said.
The facility's eight current courtrooms also host proceedings before a District Court judge and three magistrates, said Rebecca Koford, a spokesperson for the Alaska court system. More than 9,000 district court cases were filed at the facility in 2024, including about 1,880 misdemeanors, according to court data.
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That caseload is anticipated to grow as the region's population increases, Koford said. About 15,000 new residents are expected to move to the region over the next decade, bringing the population to about 131,000, according to state estimates.
The expansion project is the court system’s top need, Carney told lawmakers Wednesday.
“I do want to stress that the Palmer Courthouse is our number one capital priority this year, and I hope that you will very seriously consider this request,” she said.
Although the facility hasn’t seen a major expansion in more than a decade, it has received several renovations, including one to clean up flooding caused by a major windstorm in early 2022. The building was first constructed in 1987.
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Under the expansion master plan, the three new courtrooms would be built on the south side of the existing building, near Courtroom 8. Two of the rooms would be separated by a folding partition that could be removed for larger trials, while the third could be designed to accommodate traditional, hybrid or remote trials, according to project documents.
Last year, the court system was given $7.5 million for some of the first steps of the planned project, including some utility work and the creation of a final project design. The state awarded a $2.6 million contract late last year for the design to architecture and engineering firm Stantec.
If lawmakers grant the $22.2 million for the upcoming fiscal year, court system officials plan to next year request a final round of construction funding for a $6.3 million project to expand the Palmer Courthouse entrance, security area and clerk's office, including additional file storage, Koford said.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy's fiscal 2026 budget proposal did not include funding for the expansion.
Securing money for the project is a budget priority for state Sen. Shelley Hughes, who represents Palmer. Hughes said she discussed the project's importance with state Rep. Delana Johnson, who represents Palmer and oversees capital project funding as co-chair of the House Finance Committee.
Johnson did not respond to a request for comment.
-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com