The Franklin County Board of Commissioners will vote Tuesday to move forward on $29 million in expenditures, including construction for the new county jail.
In December, the Commissioners approved a $1.78 billion dollar budget for 2020, which covers the cost of business for nearly three dozen county agencies.At Tuesday’s meeting, the group will vote on the allocation of $29 million in individual expenses related to that total. More than half of the amount in discussion will fund construction of the Franklin County Corrections Center at 2551 Fisher Road, west of downtown Columbus.
“The downtown jail is almost 50 years old and nearing the end of its useful life,” County Administrator Kenneth N. Wilson said in a statement referencing the Franklin County Corrections Center located at 3705 Front Street. “The new corrections center on Fisher Road will not only provide new facilities but is also being built to accommodate a much more modern model of corrections.”
Additionally, the new center is expected to provide increased opportunities for recreation for inmates as well as improved drug and mental health treatment. These opportunities aim to reduce recidivism.
The first phase of the 429,000 square-foot facility is slated for completion later this year. In total, the center is expected to cost $360 million to build. Construction for the project broke ground in November 2017 and the 24-acre site will be developed in two phases.
A spokesperson for the Franklin County Commissioners office confirmed that with the completion of the new facility, the corrections center on Front Street will close and a second facility at 2460 Jackson Pike will eventually be phased out. Those facilities were built in the 1960s and 1990s, respectively.