Three county criminal justice agencies will be consolidated after county lawmakers unanimously approved a plan by County Executive Jen Metzger to buy two buildings in Uptown Kingston. The building on Joys Lane will house the District Attorney’s Office, the county’s Crime Victim’s Assistance Bureau and the Family and Child Advocacy Center.

The county will pay $3.6 million plus about $105,000 in closing costs for a 17,000-square-foot office building at 15 Joys Lane and an adjacent duplex at 9 Joys Lane. The building, which previously housed the Kingstone Insurance Company, will be home to the DA’s Office and the FCAC, an agency that combines law enforcement and social services resources to investigate domestic violence and crimes against children and the elderly. The duplex will house the Crime Victims Advocacy Bureau of the Ulster County Probation Department.

According to county spokeswoman Amberly Jane Campbell, the buildings are “move-in ready” and will be moved into early next year.

The purchase will remedy a situation in which three vital arms of the county’s criminal justice system were scattered at various locations around Uptown Kingston where the Ulster County Courthouse is located. The situation was particularly acute at the DA’s Office which has had to split personnel between the courthouse and two nearby locations since 2022 when the state approved a fourth state Supreme Court Judge for Ulster County, forcing the office to cede half its space in the courthouse to accommodate new judge’s chambers. The FCAC will move to the new facility from a leased space on Hurley Avenue while the Crime Victims Bureau will move from a county-owned building on Pearl Street.

County officials say the new site, which has backup power and ample parking, will help better coordinate the efforts of the DA’s Office and FCAC, which work closely together, and help FCAC create a more “non-threatening, child-centered” environment to conduct interviews. The new facility will also enhance the privacy and comfort of crime victims seeking assistance from the county. The move will also save the county money in the long term by allowing it to terminate leases on the former Key Bank building adjacent to the courthouse which houses the DA’s Office on Wal Street and the building on Pearl Street.

In a statement, Ulster County DA Emmanuel Nneji said the new offices would provide a morale boost to his staff while making good on his pledge upon taking office in January to alleviate the “space nightmare” that had plagued the office for two years while bringing it under the same roof as two agencies it works closely with.

“The purchase of the Joys Lane property represents Ulster County government’s commitment to public safety, the men and women of the District Attorney’s Office, crime victims of all abilities and ages, and appropriate working environment for the rigorous and challenging work we must do,” Nneji wrote. “On behalf of everyone under the DA’s Office umbrella, I express our gratitude to our county executive and legislature leaders and their staff for the time, energy, and dedication to achieve this necessity.”