Fulton County, Georgia – Abandoning earlier plans to build a new $1.7 billion prison, Fulton County has fundamentally changed its approach to enhance jail conditions. Instead, the County Commissioners have chosen a more affordable $300 million make-over of current buildings. The tightly contested 4-3 vote that decided this direction the county’s efforts toward modernizing the Rice Street and South Annex jails and investigating the viability of a new special-purpose unit.
The change follows the rejection of the plan for a new jail, initially planned to be constructed on the present Rice Street location, in May under close examination and criticism on its large costs. The county’s new strategy seeks to improve jail conditions without imposing additional financial burdens on taxpayers. Originally set aside for the new jail, $10 million in the 2024 budget will now help to fund bonds expected to earn between $85 million and $150 million.
Moreover, an extra $9.7 million from expired tax allocation districts might help to fund a comparable bond issue, therefore generating about $170 million to $300 million for jail upgrades.
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With a budget cap set at $300 million, the updated proposal calls for not only improvements to the current facilities but also the building of a special-purpose facility presumably to handle medical needs or inmates with severe mental health problems. The renovations are also set to extend to the Marietta Street jail annex.
Assistant chief strategy officer Steve Nawrocki of Fulton County emphasized the difficulties of the rehabilitation project, which also involves creating an inmate relocation plan. Although the details of the relocation expenses and schedule are yet unknown, Nawrocki cautioned that real charges might exceed the budget currently projected. The ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice on the conditions in the county jails could have an impact on the designs and ultimate expenses.
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By the end of this year, officials want to have official project proposals ready with approval of the project design scheduled for mid-2025. Commissioner Dana Barrett claims that this change in planning delays the date for building a new jail by at least a year, with building maybe starting in the fall of 2025 or later. But Joe Davis, head of the Department of Real Estate & Asset Management, pointed out that some renovation projects might start under current county contracts sooner. The last leg of the project, the new special-purpose facility marks the end of Fulton County’s redesigned strategy for addressing issues with its jail system.
