Work on New $174 Million Framingham Regional Justice Center to Begin in May

The Framingham Regional Justice Center project will begin with demolition of an existing building in May, with construction of the new facility expected to start later this year. | Photo Credit: Finegold Alexander Architects / Dimeo Construction Company

• The new $174 million Framingham Regional Justice Center is expected to consolidate multiple courts into one facility, with completion targeted for spring 2029.
• The three-story, 116,000-square-foot building will include seven new courtrooms, along with hearing rooms, secure holding areas, the District Attorney’s office and other operational and office spaces.
• Work is scheduled to begin May 4 pending final contract approval, starting with fencing, barriers and sidewalk adjustments.
• The former Danforth Museum site at 123 Union Ave. is slated for hazardous-materials work, then demolition (July–September) and excavation in November.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Officials with Dimeo Construction Company laid out an early timeline and neighborhood impacts for the new $174 million Framingham Regional Justice Center project in downtown Framingham, Mass., at the site of the former Danforth Art Museum at Framingham University.

At a community meeting April 16, Dimeo’s construction managers said the project is set to start May 4 pending final contract approval and run through spring 2029, according to reporting from MetroWest Daily News.

The new three-story, 116,000-square-foot justice center designed by Finegold Alexander Architects will replace Framingham’s existing courthouse at 600 Concord St. and bring multiple courts under one roof. Plans call for seven new courtrooms for district and juvenile courts, a new session of probate and family court, and a session of housing court, as well as five hearing rooms, a jury pool room, two deliberation rooms, the District Attorney’s Office and a Court Service Center. Several sessions now held at Marlborough District Court are expected to relocate to Framingham once the facility opens.

According to the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), the facility will also include a central holding area designed to modern courthouse security standards, along with new technology for digital courthouse operations. The design incorporates biophilic materials and energy-efficient and sustainable features that align with DCAMM’s decarbonization goals, including the use of geothermal wells for heating and cooling needs and PV solar panels on the roof that will be implemented via a third-party Power Purchase Agreement.

According to DCAMM, the project will also involve coordination with the Framingham Historic Commission and Massachusetts Historical Society, with reuse of elements from the demolished Danforth museum building to be included as public art in commemoration of the site’s historic significance in the city.

The site at 123 Union Ave., adjacent to the Framingham Public Library, was transferred from the city to DCAMM in January 2025.

According to Dimeo’s schedule, early work will include installing fencing and barriers and making sidewalk adjustments. During the first two months, crews will perform asbestos abatement and other hazardous-materials procedures before demolition of the Danforth building takes place from July through September. Once the site is cleared, excavation for the courthouse foundation is expected to start in November.

Building construction is slated for late winter into early spring 2027, including concrete-pour days that could bring heavy truck traffic — an estimated 20 to 25 concrete trucks moving through the area, Dimeo officials said.

“I would love to stand here and tell everybody it’s going to be wonderful rainbows and sunny days every day, but this will be a major construction project,” Dimeo’s senior project manager Alfred Brideau said, according to an article from the MetroWest Daily News. “There will be noise, there will be traffic, there will be disruptions. We’re going to do our best to be a good neighbor and try and minimize those impacts to everybody.”

Construction managers also said the most extensive phase — exterior and interior build-out — is scheduled from summer 2027 through fall 2028. Final interior finishes and exterior landscaping are expected to begin in winter 2028, with the project anticipated to wrap in spring 2029.

This article is based on reporting originally published by MetroWest Daily News on April 20, 2026, as well as project information published by the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM).

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