LAKEPORT, Calif. — Lakeport’s long-awaited new courthouse project will have its groundbreaking this week.

The Lake County Superior Court is inviting the community to the event, which will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 3, at the site of the new building, 675 Lakeport Blvd.

To attend the event, enter via the Bruno’s Shop Smart parking lot. The ceremony will be held in the southwest corner of the parking lot near Stone Fire Pizza.

The Judicial Council of California said the facility is expected to cost $83.8 million.

The funding for the project does not come from the city of Lakeport nor the county of Lake. Rather, it comes from dedicated funding streams created through the Legislature.

Specifically, the Judicial Branch Five-Year Infrastructure Plan for Fiscal Year 2024–25 explains that a key piece of legislation, Senate Bill 1407 — which became law in 2008 — “authorizes various fees, penalties, and assessments to be deposited in the Immediate and Critical Needs Account (ICNA) to support the construction, renovation, and operation of court facilities, including the payment of rental costs associated with completed capital-outlay projects funded with lease revenue bonds.”

That five-year infrastructure plan also lists the Lakeport Courthouse as the No. 1 immediate and critical need trial court capital-outlay project statewide. The Clearlake Courthouse is listed as No. 6. Lake is the only county to have two projects in the top 10.

Even so, despite the need, the state’s dedicated revenues for court projects were lower than expected, “which led to the curtailment of the Judicial Council’s capital program,” the five-year plan explained.

That curtailment pushed back Lake County’s project for several years. Now, however, the project is moving full-speed ahead.

The Judicial Council reported in June that the project’s working drawings phase had been completed and was to be submitted for final permits.

Once the permits and environmental regulatory approval is completed, construction can begin, officials said.

The Judicial Council expects construction to begin this summer and to be completed by early 2026.

The new 45,300 square foot building will have four courtrooms, a jury assembly room, self-help center, attorney/client meeting rooms, and on-site parking with solar generation.

It will replace the court’s current 15,332 square feet of space on the fourth floor of the 1960s-era courthouse on North Forbes Street.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.