Williamson County lays out timeline, cost options for new justice complex as commissioners debate location

County staff presented options, cost estimates and an accelerated timeline for a new Williamson County justice complex at the May 12 Commissioners Court, and commissioners and public-safety leaders debated trade-offs among cost, timing and proximity to downtown services.

County Manager Rebecca Clemens summarized work to date and explained that moves into the new Administration Building this summer will vacate downtown spaces (historic courthouse, Georgetown Tax Office and several small offices) but that vacating alone will not fill the county’s current shortfall in usable space. She said the proposed interloop "Triangle" property under contract is about 135 acres and would support a multi-phase master plan; staff models used a placeholder facility scenario with a notional $500 million project cost and an estimated land cost near $76 million, but Clemens emphasized these are planning assumptions rather than final prices.

"We are currently in phase 2 of a 6 phase process," Clemens told the court, describing a program that would include new courthouse space, sheriff administration and jail, and expanded lab and evidence space. If the…