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The future of Cuyahoga County's Justice Center will be decided in the coming months, although no timetable has been determined.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - If the aging Cuyahoga County Justice Center is replaced, judges may see a new building for all county courts, with exterior walk-up service windows and one welcoming but secure entrance.

Judges from all all county courts and Cleveland Municipal Court, members of K2M Design and Chris Glassburn, senior policy advisor for the county met Friday with said attorney Jeffrey Appelbaum, who is managing the process for the county.

Any decision regarding the 40-year-old building, which takes up a block of prime downtown land, is months away. Cleveland owns the land under the jail and the county owns the land under the justice tower, at St. Clair Avenue and Lakeside Avenue.

Last December the county agreed to pay to pay $50,000 to K2M to study options for the Justice Center. The county also paid $12,500 to the Thompson Hine law firm for the expertise of Appelbaum, who has managed several county projects including the new Hilton Downtown Cleveland convention hotel.

"We are beginning a process of visioning, gathering information and discussion to support the possibility of a future new justice facility," Appelbaum said Monday. "All the courts were invited to participate so that all parties could begin to learn about potential options, learn from each other's experience and understand each court's vision for the future."

Here's what you need to know.

What's been studied so far?

K2M, along with Osborne Engineering in 2014

of the condition of the 2.29 million-square-foot Justice Center complex.

Five judges had sent a letter to County Executive Armond Budish in March, admonishing his decision to hire an outside agency to examine the construction of a new justice center without consulting the building's judicial tenants.

Where are the courts now?

The county's domestic relations and probate courts are in the Cuyahoga County Courthouse across Lakeside Avenue from the Justice Center. The Eighth District Ohio Court of Appeals is also in that building.

The old courthouse, which opened in 1912, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

What do the judges think?

Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Raymond Pianka said on Friday the meeting was productive and judges offered their views for a new building.

"They would like us out of the Justice Center and assured us the old courthouse will still be standing," he said.

What did the experts say?

While judges provided information on Friday, the design firm provided trends in the justice center industry including courtroom technology, security and how to best conduct business, Appelbaum said.

Many courts have one entrance for security reasons and some have added exterior walk-up windows so people who have don't have to go through security and other inconveniences for a quick visit to the clerk of court's office or to pay a fine.

What does the county think?

Appelbaum said judges did "some internal work on their own" before Friday's meeting.

"We are hearing their ideas and responding to those ideas and trying to basically articulate a common vision," he said.

Appelbaum stressed no decisions have been made as to the scope of the project, the location, the participants or the viability of a new justice center. There will be more meetings with judges in the future.

"It was a good first step," he said of the meeting.