$59M Bernie McCabe Courthouse opens for 2nd District Court of Appeal

Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal has moved into a new $59 million courthouse in downtown St. Petersburg, establishing a permanent home for appellate cases from six West Coast counties.

The three-story, 51,708-square-foot Bernie McCabe Courthouse at 525 Mirror Lake Drive North now houses appeals from the Sixth, Twelfth and Thirteenth judicial circuits, covering Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto and Hillsborough counties.

Exterior of the Bernie McCabe Courthouse, home of Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal, at 525 Mirror Lake Drive North in St. Petersburg.

The $59 million Bernie McCabe Courthouse at 525 Mirror Lake Drive North now serves as the permanent home of Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal in downtown St. Petersburg.

Interior ceremonial courtroom at the $59 million Bernie McCabe Courthouse, home of Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal in St. Petersburg.

The ceremonial courtroom inside the new Bernie McCabe Courthouse in downtown St. Petersburg now serves as the permanent home of Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal.

Facility details and regional impact

The purpose-built facility consolidates the court’s operations in a single downtown location designed around security, judicial workflow and long-term capacity.

The building includes 15 judicial chambers across two levels, a ceremonial courtroom and lobby, and three floors of office space for judicial personnel and Clerk of Court services.

A 7,800-square-foot central energy plant supports operations, and the project includes secured ground-floor parking.

St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch called the opening a civic milestone.

“The City of St. Petersburg is proud to welcome the Second District Court of Appeals to its new home,” Welch said in a statement. He added that it is “especially meaningful” that the courthouse bears the name of Bernie McCabe, whose “integrity and steady leadership shaped our justice system for decades.”

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The courthouse is named for the late state attorney who served Pinellas and Pasco counties for nearly 50 years before his death in 2021.

Chief Judge Matthew C. Lucas said the move gives the district a long-term base of operations.

“The Bernie McCabe Courthouse stands as a monument to the rule of law for the people we serve,” Lucas said. “The judges and staff of the Second District are proud to call this beautiful building our new home.”

Skanska built the facility to meet LEED certification standards, reflecting a continued emphasis on energy performance and lifecycle cost control in public construction.

Tracy Hunt, executive vice president and general manager for Skanska’s Florida building operations, said the courthouse adds to the firm’s portfolio of large-scale civic work across Tampa Bay.

“Our team is honored to deliver this landmark courthouse in downtown St. Petersburg,” Hunt said. “This courthouse continues that legacy by providing a lasting facility for the justice system that will serve the community for generations to come.”

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DLR Group served as architect of record, with Wannemacher Jensen Architects as associate architect.

The project comes amid elevated public construction spending nationwide. Public-sector outlays reached $482 billion in 2025, according to U.S. Census Bureau data cited by the project team.

Courthouse projects typically follow long-term state funding cycles and security requirements, signaling sustained investment in core government infrastructure.

For the six-county region served by the Second District Court of Appeal, the completed courthouse formalizes appellate capacity in one of Florida’s fastest-growing corridors.

With the building now open, the court begins operations from a facility designed to support judicial work for decades.