540 East Main: Public/Private Partnership at its Best 

540 East Main Street is the former J.C. Penny department store. It was purchased as a vacant bank building and custom designed for the Superior Court of San Joaquin county as the Family Law Building. It was built to the State’s highest building standards to accommodate six courtrooms, judges’ chambers and records storage.

The dramatic restoration of adjacent building 600 East Main Street and its occupancy by the county’s Department of Environmental Health paved the way for the next renovation at 540 East Main Street, which has been cited by the State Office of Courts as the result of one of the best public/private partnerships in California. This recognition is especially welcome because creating such solid, mutually beneficial partnerships is one of my major goals.

Combining modern design within an older structure is what I do in all my projects, with excellent results. Rather the conflicting with each other, the old and the new, when incorporated with good taste and good sense, coexist elegantly.

– Dan Cort

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