Chief Judge Cibella reported to the Hillsborough County Public Safety Coordinating Council that the County Commission has approved a committee to study and plan a new criminal court complex for the county.

“As you may know, the county commission approved a committee to study the need for update and particularly to build a new criminal court complex for the courts,” Cibella said, describing a committee that includes the clerk, the state attorney’s office, the public defender’s office, the sheriff’s office and other justice partners.

The committee’s stated approach is to visit courthouses in other circuits to learn what worked and what could have been done differently. Scheduled site visits include Leon County (Tallahassee) on Jan. 27, Orange County (Downtown Orlando) on Dec. 5, a January visit to the sixth judicial circuit (Pinellas–Pasco) to be finalized between Jan. 16 or Jan. 30, and a planned trip to Miami with dates to be determined.

“We want a building, a courthouse that will allow us to grow with it,” Cibella said, adding that the committee will gather input from justice partners and then make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners.

Cibella said the committee has invited stakeholders who would use the facility and that the county commission has been supportive. No specific project budget, timeline or site was proposed during the update; those details will be developed and presented to the Board of County Commissioners following the study tours.