Extensive renovations planned for the Windsor District Courthouse in White River Junction are expected to force the county’s criminal division elsewhere next year, but state officials still don’t know where.

Court proceedings will continue in the current building “until alternative spaces have been identified and construction has begun,” Kate Eberle, a spokesperson for the state Department of Buildings and General Services, wrote in an email last week. She said the department is working with the Vermont Judiciary and an architectural firm to produce construction documents.

A preliminary schedule included in the department’s request for proposals projects construction to begin in April 2024, wrap up in late fall 2025 and cost about $8 million. (The courthouse, built in 1987, is often referred to as Vermont Superior Court Windsor Criminal Division.)

The downtown courthouse, once renovated, is expected to feature improved energy efficiency; upgraded HVAC, life safety and security systems; renovated interior space; and a new roof and parking lot. The state has also asked bidders to stabilize the bank along the Connecticut River, which abuts the court.

According to Teri Corsones, the state’s court administrator, the judiciary is providing the Department of Buildings and General Services with ideas about where to hold court during construction and what a new courthouse should include.

“We just want to make sure that it’s going to be as least disruptive to court operations as possible,” she said. “We do have some added flexibility with the remote hearing capability that we haven’t had in the past when there’s been major construction projects.”

A temporary location would need ample space for parking and administrative tasks, Corsones said, and criminal proceedings would require a secure holding cell. She said locations in Woodstock, Hartland and White River Junction were all possibilities, but no decision had been made.

Windsor County State’s Attorney Ward Goodenough said he’d only found out “recently” about the renovation. “I will say that I’ve asked them to consider modernizing the courtrooms so they are better equipped for 21st century hearings and jury trials,” he said.

Goodnenough also said he’d asked the judiciary to consider moving the state’s attorney’s office into a designated space within the new courthouse. The office is currently located across the street.

Rep. Esme Cole, D-Hartford, serves on the town’s energy commission. She said she found out about the planned renovation at an October meeting with the judiciary.

“It sounded like the biggest priority,” Cole recalled, “is to really include the voices of the people contributing to the operations every single day.” That means seeking input from court staff, defense attorneys and prosecutors, according to Cole.

Given her role on the local energy commission, Cole said she hoped the state would take sustainability into consideration, as well as modernization.

“For example, the screens are so small that the jury looks at,” Cole said, referring to how a jury currently views evidence at the courthouse. “There are ways that the structural modifications could impact judicial outcomes even, or the judicial process.”

Prospective bidders have until Jan. 12 to submit proposals to the state.