It took another twenty years before it was replaced with a brick building, constructed in 1886, which lasted until the Great Fire of 1901, which destroyed most of downtown Jacksonville.

An architecturally modern courthouse was constructed on East Bay Street and dedicated in 1958, ten years before consolidation and at a time when the entire county's population was just over 450,000.

[2] The 2000 Census counted over three-quarters of a million people in Duval County, an increase of 67% since the prior courthouse opened.

Mayor John Delaney proposed the Better Jacksonville Plan, a $2.25 billion package of projects, including a new courthouse.

Peyton stopped work on the courthouse complex on October 28, 2004, and fired Cannon and construction managers Skanska Dynamic Partners.

[5] Peyton decided to throw out Cannon's original designs, including completed work, and proposed a new plan.

[6] On November 16, 2007, the Courthouse Architectural Review Committee (CARC) convened to review the new options under consideration by the administration and voted 4-1 to pursue the mayor's recommendation to build one 800,000 square foot facility on the existing LaVilla site using the design from KBJ Architects.

Based on that recommendation and after intensive study, the Jacksonville City Council approved a $350 million county courthouse complex in April, 2008 that was supported by Mayor Peyton and Chief Circuit Judge Donald Moran.

[7][8] ^$64.3 million already spent to-date for land acquisition, utility relocation and previous design efforts [9] Construction began in May 2009, with more than 400 workers engaged for over a year.