The best courthouse the County can buy

excerpt and rendering from: https://jerseydigs.com/new-hudson-county-courthouse-moves-forward-renderings/ 

Last month, this blog published the 2019 Hudson County budget, noting one particular line item: $.593 BILLION appropriated for a new courthouse development, the Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, in Jersey City. 

It is not in dispute that the existing mid-century structure at 595 Newark was decrepit and probably under capacity.  But, why is the County appropriating nearly double the estimated cost? Last April, The Jersey Journal quoted Freeholder Bill O'Dea estimating the total cost of the project at "around $300 million:"

"...the acquisition of the land needed to build the Justice Complex cost about $23 million and demolition of buildings on the site cost about $2 million. The total cost of the project was to be between $250 and $270 million. The changes to the design will boost the total price tag of the project to around $300 million, O’Dea said."  

On February 20, Jersey Digs called the courthouse project a "$345M scheme."

"One of the largest public developments in the state, the Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, has been in the works for several years. The $345 million scheme will replace Hudson County’s outdated Administration Building at 595 Newark Street with a new structure across the street set to feature 24 courtrooms, jury assembly spaces, various offices, and the Sheriff’s Department."

Why does the Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex cost estimate continue to creep upwards?

Why is the County appropriating $245M above the project's estimated total cost ?

That is a lot of padding.

The City of Hoboken, facing a $7-14 Million budget gap, should ask the County to justify this giant appropriation. Maybe the County can peel off some of that padding to relieve Hoboken from its looming tax increases and layoffs. Maybe? 

In the meantime, I think the Rafael Vignoly design is cool- a glass box caged in by somber vertical 'bars'- a metaphor for its function. It's novel-looking for a court house too, and intimidating as it should be- in my opinion. Commenters on Jersey Digs disagree, panning the Vignoly design as a "dystopian prison"  and  "an elongated Home Depot."  Different strokes, as they say. 

But really, why is the County bloating the budget appropriation? 

Aerial view of the future Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, the public green space at 595 Newark Avenue, and the historical Brennan Courthouse. Rendering via Hudson County Improvement Authority.