For Employees, Broward's $200M Courthouse Can't Open Sooner

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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- Walking through the front doors of the new Broward County Courthouse, the first thing one notices is a building outfitted for the future.

County administrators allowed the news media, some judges and courthouse employees to tour the building Wednesday, which is not yet open to the general public.

Some workers are moving in already but the county says it will take months to get everyone settled into the 20-story building.

The spacious entryway has double the number of security checkpoints and, a floor above, there is a bank of electronic wall monitors, which will guide people on where to go. The state of the art technology also extends to the courtrooms where jurors have monitors to view evidence.

Hundreds of courthouse employees have been anxious to get into the new building to escape the old courthouse that has made some sick. Flooding and mold problems in the old building have forced some to wear surgical masks and others say they need inhalers to breathe better.

"We are a year behind" said Steve Hammond, who was the county project lead.

He blames part of the delay on getting rid of mold that had settled into a wall structure after a toilet overflowed.

"The past days are over," he said, pointing out the project is under budget. Hammond says it will take a good three months to get everyone into the new building, meaning no quick relief for those still in the old courthouse and others doubled up in temporary quarters.

Judge Jay Hurley, the former bond court judge who took the tour, says it's worth the wait.

"I'm already breathing easier. It's a long time coming."