The new Courthouse serves as the new location for the 24th District Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Court Clerk, and related Court Services Unit, with auxiliary spaces for use by the local Sheriff’s Department. The J&DR Courthouse is a five story, 46,530 SF structure built into the hillside between Court Street and Clay Street in the Courthouse Hill Historic District of downtown Lynchburg. Within are two Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courtrooms, a Mediation Room, a Hearing Room, and multiple Attorney Conference spaces. Court functions are augmented with three judge’s chambers, offices for the Court Clerk, and on a separate floor, the 24th District Court Service Unit. Incarcerated defendants are brought into the building through a secure vehicular sallyport and transported by a dedicated elevator to holding cells outside the courtrooms.
The building has been awarded LEED Gold Certification and features the first green roof in Lynchburg. The exterior design compliments the columned porticos of the adjacent buildings on Court Street and is clad in brick with glass fiber reinforced concrete panels and cornices.