Bountiful's courthouse could close under a $180.4 million plan to build a single justice center in Farmington that would replace three aging courthouses across Davis County.

Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings pitched the five-story, 179,000-square-foot facility to the Davis County Commission, as first reported by the Davis Journal on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The building would rise on the existing Farmington court site and house 12 state courtrooms, a county justice courtroom and two additional courtrooms built as empty space for future growth.

Court operations are currently spread across courthouses in Bountiful, Farmington and Layton. The proposal would consolidate all of them into one building and bring the County Attorney's Office under the same roof. Rawlings said prosecutors, investigators and staff are scattered across four locations.

Davis County is Utah's third-largest county by population. Rawlings told the commission the county is projected to grow another 13% by 2030.

The price tag breaks down this way: the state would cover roughly $152 million through annual legislative appropriations over 20 to 30 years. Davis County's share would be $28.3 million in local funding. Selling the state-owned Layton courthouse after the move would return a $7.5 million credit to the state General Fund.

No vote has been scheduled.

A preliminary feasibility study found the combined building would occupy about 144,000 square feet of court tenant space. That is 20% less than the three courthouses use now, a reduction of 36,241 square feet.

Rawlings pointed to security gaps at all three existing courthouses and the expense of maintaining three aging buildings.

"We do all serious cases here. If you want us to continue to do it at an award winning level, we're going to need adequate infrastructure facilities and technology to do it as well … the problem right now is we don't," Rawlings said in his presentation.

The new building would also include a raised in-custody transportation corridor connecting the facility to the county jail.

The commission held a special session on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Davis County Administration Building in Farmington to discuss the justice center internally. Commission Vice Chair Lorene Kamalu recommended that discussion. No public comments from commissioners about the proposal have been recorded.

Residents can follow the proposal through Davis County Commission meeting agendas.