Ground Broken for New Kent County Family Courthouse

September 22, 2022/Mari Lou

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Artist rendering of new Kent County Family Courthouse / Image courtesy State of Delaware Administrative Office of the Courts
right to left: Family Court Chief Judge Michael K. Newell, State Sen. Kyle Evans Gay, Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr., Gov. John Carney, State Rep. Sean Lynn and other elected officials / Image courtesy State of Delaware Administrative Office of the Courts

Groundbreaking for the new Kent County Family Court building was held this/Thursday morning. The new Family Court building will be built at the corner of South Governors Avenue and Water Street – one block west of the Kent County Courthouse. This facility will be similar to the new Sussex County Family Courthouse, which is already under construction. Both have the same basic layout and plans for efficiency in design and construction. Both buildings have the same number of courtrooms and similar safety features, though the exterior of each is different.

The new $117.7 million 3-story 106,711 square-foot Kent County Family Court will replace an outdated 35,000 square-foot building at 400 Court Street in Dover that was built in 1989. Studies dating back more than a decade show the existing Family Court facility in Dover – like its soon to be retired Sussex County counterpart — is unsafe by modern court standards and causes issues for attorneys, litigants, and court staff.

Construction on the Kent County Family Courthouse is expected to begin this winter and be completed in late 2025.

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