The stalling is over. Construction of Augusta's $67 million judicial center began Wednesday with a ceremonial shoveling of dirt by city dignitaries, a groundbreaking 14 years in the making.

About 200 people including county commissioners, state legislators, district attorney's and solicitor's office staffs, sheriff's office personnel, city employees and local attorneys attended the ceremony on a lot north of Walton Way between Tenth Street and James Brown Boulevard.

On the site of a former strip club, the center will be what Chief Superior Court Judge Carlisle Overstreet described as a symbol of stability. In about two years, it will be a place where not only basic rights are protected, but also the history of the county through records of property transactions, marriages, adoptions and probate settlements, he said.

When he took the podium, Mayor Deke Copenhaver pointed to the nearby third level of the Augusta Canal.

"This is going to be a catalyst for redevelopment of this part of the city," he said.

The center will be four and two stories high in different sections, with 15 courtrooms and hearing rooms and space for the district attorney's and solicitor's offices.

Parts of Fenwick and Talcot streets will be closed for the building, which will be designed to be easily expanded, Judge Overstreet said.

The first committee to plan for a new courthouse was formed in 1994. Voters approved funds for it on multiple special-purpose sales tax ballots, but the site kept moving. At various times, discussions placed it near the Savannah River, on Greene Street, at the fairgrounds and at one point at the defunct Regency Mall. As the plan evolved, more offices became part of the concept.

Mr. Copenhaver credited the current Augusta Commission with speeding the process. He said it's no coincidence that the judicial center, the new library and the new jail pods at the Webster Detention Center have all started before year's end.