Dimeo Construction Company completed the new 277,000 SF Cornelius F. Kiernan Judicial Center in the historic Hamilton Canal District of downtown Lowell. The modern, energy efficient building sets a new courthouse standard for sustainable design and quality of environment for visitors and staff. There are seventeen courtrooms with state-of-the-art security and technology features. An artist was commissioned to integrate Lowell historic architecture and diversification as well as judicial influence into the front entry glass curtain wall system.
The completed facility contains the operations of the District, Housing, Superior, Juvenile and Probate and Family Courts. It also contains office space for court staff, a Law Library, a detainee holding area, the Registry of Deeds, office of the District Attorney, and a Grand Jury Room. The Lowell Justice Center acts as the cornerstone for the entry into the Hamilton Canal District and is the first new building constructed for Lowell’s Hamilton Canal District development master plan.
Consistent with the state’s commitment to the environment, this model courthouse was designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification and is the first Courthouse in the country to receive that designation. The building was also awarded the 2021 Boston Society of Architecture (BSA) Accessible Design Award and the AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice 2023 Justice Facilities Review Award.
