Essex County Is Building $177M Family Court Complex In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — Essex County is about to invest some major dollars in a new family court building that will be located in Newark.

On Thursday, county officials announced plans to build a new, eight-story family court building on Branford Place. It will house the Family Court Division of the Essex Vicinage of state Superior Court.

The family courts currently are located in the Wilentz Building at 212 Washington Street in Newark. Essex County moved the family courts into the building in the 1990s.

According to officials, Essex County is selling its share in the Wilentz Building because the new owners have plans to redevelop the site for different uses. The owners have agreed to pay off the remaining debt that Essex County has on the building.

Comito Associates from Newark received a professional services contract for $4.6 million to design the building. Dobco Inc. from Wayne was awarded a publicly bid contract for $172.6 million to construct the building. Financing for the Family Courts Building is being provided through the Essex County Improvement Authority.

It is scheduled to be completed in 2025, officials said.

Additional details include:

“The new 267,000-square-foot building is being constructed on the parking lot on Branford Place between Washington Street and University Avenue. The lot was formerly used by employees at the Essex County Division of Family Assistance and Benefits. There will be 22 courtrooms in the building, which includes 19 courtrooms for Family Court and three Children-in-Court Courtrooms. There also are five hearing rooms, four mediation rooms and 18 interview rooms, waiting rooms with child play areas for child support, space for a Domestic Violence Unit and Non-Dissolution, and offices for the Prosecutor’s Office, interpreters and Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA).”

“Families and children coming to Family Court can be facing some of the most difficult and challenging times of their lives,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

“It is important that we provide spaces where they can feel safe and comfortable and be treated with dignity and respect,” he added.

DiVincenzo is recommending that the building be named as the “Essex County Wynona Lipman Family Courts Building” in honor of the late New Jersey State Senator Wynona Lipman.

“Wynona Lipman was trailblazer in Trenton where she was a tireless advocate for women, families, children and the less fortunate,” the county executive said. “Much of the legislation she sponsored provided the strongest protections at the time and laid the foundation for our current laws.”

“Even though she passed away over two decades ago, Senator Lipman is still recognized as a champion,” DiVincenzo added. “Naming this facility in her honor will keep her legacy alive, inspire others to follow in her footsteps and provide hope to all those going through troubled times who visit our building.”

County officials provided some additional background about Lipman:

“Born in Georgia, Wynona Lipman didn’t begin her political career until she relocated to Montclair. She served as a Democratic Committee member and Town Chairwoman before being elected as an Essex County Freeholder in 1968 and becoming President of the Board in 1971. Instead of seeking re-election to county office, Ms. Lipman successfully ran for NJ State Senate and represented the 29th Legislative District for 27 years before she passed away in office in 1999.

“Senator Lipman was a trailblazer in New Jersey politics, becoming the first African American woman to serve in the NJ State Senate and for many years was the only woman to be a member of that legislative body. She earned the nickname of ‘Steel Magnolia’ because of her tenacity to get legislation passed without compromising her courteous demeanor.

“She concentrated her attention on passing legislation to improving the lives and interests of women, children, families, small businesses and minorities. In 1978, she sponsored legislation to create the Commission on Sex Discrimination in the Statutes and became chair of the commission when it was signed into law. The commission modernized New Jersey statutes that contained sex-based classifications and helped initiate legislation to eliminate inequities. It took on a number of wide-ranging issues including employment discrimination, marriage laws, child support, the rights of children, sexual assault and domestic violence. Other notable legislation sponsored by Ms. Lipman were the Prevention of Domestic Violence Acts of 1981 and 1991, which at the time were the toughest domestic violence laws in the country, as well as legislation supporting family leave, pay equity and child support enforcement, which serve as the foundation for current laws.”

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