The era of the Nampa Court Annex will end in summer

Canyon County will be seeking buyers for its Nampa Court Annex once summer comes around.

At that time, the three courtrooms will move to the Canyon County Courthouse in Caldwell and the Nampa annex will be vacated and put on the market, Canyon County Commissioner Steve Rule said.

“The county has no interest to keep the building,” Rule said.

The 9,500-square foot Nampa Court Annex was built around 1950 with a second building added around 1970, Canyon County spokesman Joe Decker said.

The clock started ticking for the county’s Nampa court presence when the new County Administration Building opened in Caldwell last summer. This enabled Canyon County to move all non-court functions out of the Canyon County Courthouse, which had also housed nearly all other county offices since it was built in 1974.

“Everything not associated with the courts moved into the administration building, including the public defender’s office,” Rule said.

In 2011, the county had brought in Miami-based Carter, Goble, Lee, a company that specializes in practical solutions for public facility development challenges, to master plan a future beyond the overcrowded county courthouse.

CGL suggested a new juvenile center, a new government office building, a new jail and additional parking. Voters balked at the new jail, but three years later a new administration building was in place and last year a juvenile justice center was completed. This enabled the country to add court rooms in the courthouse.

Construction is under way now to increase the number of courtrooms in Caldwell from 14 to 20, with three new district courts and three new magistrate courts on the second and third floors, where former office space is being converted into courtrooms.

This will centralize all Canyon County courtrooms in one building.