MPS students help with Milwaukee County courthouse complex overhaul

In addition to demolishing and rebuilding a 100-year-old building and overhauling many of the criminal courts in Milwaukee County, the multi-million-dollar downtown courthouse complex project will also give young people their first experience in architecture and design.

For years, Milwaukee County planned reconstruction of the Public Safety Building and renovations to the adjacent historic county courthouse, aiming to bring all criminal courts under one roof. County officials had longstanding safety concerns due to the size and the condition of the Public Safety Building.

Dallas-based infrastructure firm AECOM, selected in January 2025 to help plan the courthouse complex facilities, brought on board two Milwaukee Public Schools students to learn and help with different projects including the Public Safety Building replacement.

It’s part of the county’s goal to include youth apprentices in the design process for the landmark project, said Jeanette Peruchini, a vice president and managing principal at AECOM. In Milwaukee, the firm worked with four youth apprentices since it started last year.

This season the firm welcomed Bozo (pronounced Bo-zho) Stanic, a 17-year-old senior at Ronald Reagan High School, and Ramirra Hines, also 17 and attending Riverside University High School.

Working from the downtown Milwaukee office, the two will work alongside architects and engineers putting together projects in Milwaukee and Chicago.

No two days are the same, said Stanic, who has worked with the firm since April.

“Recently we finished up our training, whether that be OSHA certification, CPR training, Revvit, CAD or Autodesk,” Stanic said. “Other things are incorporated in our days such as structural meetings for the courthouse project or exploring other aspects of the company, like the transportation or environmental aspect,” which are specialties of the Milwaukee office.

AECOM has a team in its Chicago office working on the courthouse complex overhaul. The firm meets with Milwaukee County officials and contractors, suggesting tweaks to make the project more feasible.

A Milwaukee County Board supervisor wants the downtown courthouse complex project to go through a referendum in November asking voters whether they would require board approval for any additional financing for construction of the courthouse project, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

In early July, the county estimated the project would cost around $897 million, around double the initial cost listed.

The resolution will go to the finance committee on July 23. The maintenance backlog of the 320,000-square-foot courthouse complex is around $75 million.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley’s office said inflation ballooned and will continue to if the project is delayed, MJS reported. Crowley believes his funding approach will cover the increase and cut taxpayers’ costs by more than $400 million by tapping other sources.

Hines, who started in June, toured the courthouse with professional architects and engineers surveying electrical components in the roof. “There was a lot of information to soak up, and we got to see the wiring and electrical systems above the courthouse ceiling. We went through the courthouse, we took back ways that the public doesn’t get to see,” she said.

One part of the project Hines said she was interested in learning about was two simultaneous projects in the historic courthouse, where renovations will take place to accommodate personnel and visitors after the Public Safety Building is demolished.

This will be the “enabling phase” where project management moves occupants from the Public Safety Building into the courthouse to keep the justice system running, Peruchini said. Additionally, some occupants will move off site during construction.

To work with AECOM, youth apprentices had to apply with a cover letter and a resume, something teens rarely experience before college, Peruchini said

“I don’t know if youth get exposure and really understand the importance of the court system as much without this involvement, so it grounds them in the community,” she added.

For Hines, an architecture class at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee got her excited about the field. But a guidance counselor told her about the youth apprenticeship at AECOM.

“I was super excited to continue my journey learning about architecture and engineering,” she added.

“There’s infinite parts to the project that are very interesting,” Stanic said. “I’m mainly interested in the structural side of things, specifically for the new public safety building. There’s so many aspects engineers had to take into account, such as property lines, existing columns in old buildings, the pedestrian bridges… That all plays a role as to how the building is designed.”

Both youth apprentices said they’re committed to the next step in their career path.

AECOM is also involved in the ACE Mentor Program of America, exposing youth to the architecture, engineering and construction industries.

Initially, the design phase of the new courthouse complex was expected to be completed in 2028, MJS reported. The county said it wanted to break ground in 2027 at the earliest, but demolition has been pushed back to 2028. Construction is expected to start between 2029 and 2032.