Justice Center construction close to $200 million; County gov. admits does not know true cost of project
- Chuck Thompson
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
By Chuck Thompson | Exclusive to The Shelby Independent
Editor’s note: This legal letter dated July 8, 2026 was discovered in a public records request by The Shelby Independent. This is a developing news story about the information within a letter and the information researched from other documents and previous news reports. A second part will follow at a later date.
SHELBY, N.C. – Music Mogul Billionaire David Geffen owns a yacht called ‘Rising Sun,’ a massive 453-foot vessel worth approximately $200 million which he bought from Billionaire Larry Ellison. The Royal Family of Qatar reportedly acquired Aquarius, a 302-foot megayacht originally commissioned and owned by casino mogul Steve Wynn, for $200 million. And the taxpayers of Cleveland County now own the landlocked boat ‘Justice Center’ worth about the same.
The next time you go to a Carolina Panthers football game at Bank of America Stadium, keep in mind they built that massive stadium for $250,000,000 in 1996. One may or may not think it’s unfortunate that we don’t have the Carolina Panthers playing in Shelby; because we could use the revenue, especially now. It only cost about $50,000,000 more than the Justice Center is allegedly estimated to potentially cost by the time it’s all said and done. Even with inflation, Cleveland County could buy almost half the stadium for the cost of building the Justice Center.
A recent letter sent from the county government to the builders of the Justice Center revealed all of this; something the public was not aware of, until now.
In a letter from Cleveland County Government, dated July 8, 2026, written by the county’s attorney, Jonathan Sink, to the legal counsel representing the Yates-Metcon Joint Venture, the builders of the new Justice Center, the county addressed concerns regarding the cost and completion date of the complex, that originally was slated to cost 105 - 120 million.
According to the July 8 legal letter, the originally planned move-in dates, based on an email sent to the county government from the builders on Dec. 4, 2025, stated the county could begin moving in by June, 2026, with the Sheriff’s Office June 8, the detention center July 15 and the courthouse on Aug. 13, 2026.
However, the substantial completion date is currently slated for Oct. 14, the intended completion date for the majority of the entire complex, and now with a move-in date for the Sheriff’s Office aiming for September 23; the day after the new detention center is currently scheduled to open, this may not happen, in-full.
In the letter, the county stated their frustration to Yates-Metcon for the slow-moving process of a project that first began on paper in 2021, and since that time new county commissioners have been elected to the board.
The explicit concern of the burden being further placed on the taxpayer is evident, especially since the county has expressed on numerous occasions that property taxes would not and were not raised to pay for a project that currently cost $187,000,000, quickly closing in on the $200 million mark. A far cry from the original 75 million paid for by the taxpayers and the 40 million dollars allotted by the state, as was quoted in an interview with County Chairman Kevin Gordon, by The Shelby Independent, published Aug. 25, 2025. This amount was also mentioned by Gordon during the December 2025 board of county commissioners meeting, on the Youtube link it begins at the 15 minute mark, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/live/LTvSg9pb6Nk?si=IecTMoQxLTtDdQ_z
The contract called for a $171,000,000 project cap, but while stated in the actual contract, that number could not be found as discussed publicly / verbally in public by the county commissioners or administration; a number that was quietly avoided for some time, both cost-wise and from the public eye; it was discovered in the July 8, 2026, letter and then found in the amendment contract signed and dated from 2024. However, the project is now well beyond that max-cost number as of this month.
In writing, the county admits it seems to be in the dark about the actual costs, admitting the sum total to be much higher than intended, while laying the blame on the contractor and taking no responsibility on their end.
“…despite massive outlays of the County's time and expense, and three and one-half years after beginning work with the JV and its team, the County still does not know what the Project will ultimately cost, and that cost is now trending upwards of $187,000,000,” the county admitted, placing the blame solely on the builders. “It is the County's position that the JV failed to properly estimate the cost of the Project and continues to struggle to perform constructability reviews in a competent manner - as demonstrated by the disclaimer affixed to the schedule lookaheads each week, which cover only three weeks at a time. As the steward of local taxpayer dollars, the County will have no other choice but to hold the JV responsible for these unnecessary costs and expressly reserves its right to recover them.
In the July 8, 2026, letter from the county to Yates-Metcon, the county demanded a reimbursement of some funds from the builders, “As you are aware, the contractual relationship between our respective clients was forged in good faith through a fully executed guaranteed maximum price document dated January 25, 2023, and amended on or around April 23, 2024 (together referred to as the "Contract"). As you also know, the central purpose of the project is the construction of the new Cleveland County Justice Center (the "Project"), a high-stakes, publicly facing, and taxpayer-intensive investment greater than any other project in the history of Cleveland County government.
"While the County appreciates the work that has been and continues to be done on the new Justice Center, this letter addresses the JV's (joint venture) proposed schedule amendment; the absence of any notice of delay or any contractually compliant Project schedule; the JV's unauthorized use of the project contingency fund; its failure to provide the promised schedule-delivery letter; the failed preconstruction services for which the County paid $1,298,017; and the County's resulting demands, including reimbursement of the amounts the County's audits show were improperly drawn on and used by the JV contrary to the express terms and conditions of the Contract, among other items.
The county also expressed its worry from its five-member duly-elected board of commissioners, hinting at their concern to do what the public expects and if anything, their jobs could be on the line at reelection time, too, if the public is unhappy with the progress and end-results of the Justice Center, especially the massive costs.
“We trust you understand that the new Cleveland County Justice Center is the most visible, public, cost-intensive, and high-stakes project Cleveland County's government has embarked on - not just in recent history, but ever,” the letter states. “And as a reflection of the local elected officials they voted into office, citizens have entrusted our five Board members with their hard-earned County tax dollars, and you probably already know that citizens from every corner of the County are understandably following every step of how this costly endeavor pans out.”
“Hard-earned tax dollars” is the key phrase there, since the letter also explicitly states that the costs have run much higher than what the residents of Cleveland County were told to believe, not to mention the October 2026 deadline may be in breach of contract. But when the county states in writing, in a legal letter, that they have no idea how much the Justice Center is going to cost, without being upfront to the tax-paying citizens of Cleveland County, one can only wonder about the actual burden residents will have to carry due to the liberal spending by leadership on this government project.
While spilling the beans on the actual truth behind the over-budgeted and behind-schedule Justice Center, the legal letter was basically to inform the builders the county would be withholding funds and requesting a buyout and completion schedule from the builders.
The county writes in the July 8 letter, “Given the foregoing, the County can no longer rely on the JV's representations with respect to the price, schedule, or scope of the work required to complete the Contract. The County therefore demands that, within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter, the JV provide: (a) a complete buyout price for the remaining work; and (b) a contractually compliant schedule - complete with the required monthly reports and free of any "planning purposes only" disclaimer - demonstrating how the JV plans to complete the work by the October 14, 2026, Substantial Completion date. One might call it a recovery schedule; it is, in truth, a completion schedule. In addition, the JV should consider this letter its notice that the County will withhold further disbursement of Contract funds, to the fullest extent permitted by the Contract and applicable law, unless and until the County is satisfied that the JV's schedule reflects reality.”
To say the county is embarrassed and angry is evident by their strongly worded letter to Yates-Metcon, mentioning the taxpayers, the county commissioners’ responsibility to the taxpayers (voters) and the withholding of future funds.
(Justice Center $200 million, continued below...)
In previous comments by elected officials, such as during the December 2025 Cleveland County Board of Commissioners’ public meeting, Chairman Kevin Gordon lauded the progress on the Justice Center, and the dedicated hard work of the commissioners and administration, as reported by The Shelby Independent, published on Dec 4, 2025.
“I know sometimes our discussions are not 100% in agreement and it shouldn’t be – that's why it's a board instead of one person...” Gordon continued by thanking the county manager, noting, “David (Cotton) was baptized by fire when he came here with all the construction projects going on.” He continued by noting they will dedicate the department of elections and also dedicate the new 911 center soon. He mentioned the final phase of financing was approved for the Justice Center noting it comprises three buildings – Detention, courthouse and Sheriff’s Office. “It’s within budget, and about two months ahead of schedule,” said Gordon. You can watch the meeting here, staring at 12:25 minutes on the video: https://www.youtube.com/live/LTvSg9pb6Nk
To Gordon’s credit, that was allegedly said in an email to the county by the builders on December 4, 2025. However, the December 2025 Cleveland County Board of Commissioners regular meeting was held on Tuesday, December 2, 2025. Either Gordon was informed of this ahead of the official email referenced in the July 8 legal letter to Yates-Metcon, or the date in the letter was incorrect, because as the letter stated, “On December 4, 2025 the JV notified the county in an email that the move-in dates for the three structures…” which is listed above toward the top of this news investigation. Two of those dates have already been missed: June 8 and July 15.
But wait, there’s more.
The new detention center was supposed to replace the old jail annex, however, it was designed without enough room, leaving a shortage of beds, as also admitted in the legal letter of July 8.
“Based upon the JV's estimates, the County was forced to eliminate 100 beds in the Detention Center and forgo the upfit of two courtrooms and detention pods, and the County removed "Phase 2" from the scope of the GMP altogether in order to achieve a buildable budget…”
100 fewer beds and phase 2 removed.
Phase 2 was to demolish the current courthouse and turn it into a parking lot, however, it is unclear at the time of publication of this news story what will happen now with the phase 2 plan if it is actually scratched, as stated in the July 8, 2026, legal letter.
The county also warned / reminded the builders that the Justice Center construction project will have to pass two audits.
“It bears reemphasizing to all involved on the JV's behalf that this Project must pass an audit by the State of North Carolina, and that to pass this audit, the JV will have to demonstrate that it conducted itself as a fiduciary. It should go without saying that this is a Construction Management at Risk project, not a time-and-materials contract.”
Whether Cleveland County itself will also be audited in the process remains to be seen.
The county demanded the builders provide a detailed list of written accounting of all costs within 15 days of the latter, which dated July 8 must be completed and received by Thursday, July 23, counting weekends.
The letter also demanded the JV reimburse the Cleveland County the full amount of unduly drawn monies “exceeding a minimum of $1.5 million in the aggregate, with the precise number to be reconciled against the parties' payment records and the County's audits – within the same fifteen (15) day period. Payment should specifically be made out to Cleveland County and be delivered to the County Manager's Office at County headquarters…”
This is breaking investigative news and a developing story. A second part to this news event will be published at a date yet to be determined.
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Chuck Thompson is a reporter and columnist for The Shelby Independent.
2026 The Shelby Independent.
Yet the useless county manager gets a $15K raise.