Cuyahoga County buys land for new county jail. PLA expected for $750 million project
The Cuyahoga County Council approved the purchase of land in Garfield Heights to build a new county jail on Sept. 26.
The 72-acre site, located off Transportation Boulevard and Granger Road, was purchased for $38.7 million.
County Executive Chris Ronayne told the council the Garfield Heights site was large enough to build what the county needs in the future, which may include multiple buildings and a central service campus with wrap-around services that people will need in addition to the county jail.
For affiliated members of the Cleveland Building Trades, the decision means an estimated $750 million project is on the horizon.
Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary/Business Manager Dave Wondolowski said the Garfield Heights site selected by Cuyahoga County Council made the most sense.
“We need a modernized detention center that is safe and secure,” Wondolowski said, adding that building a new county jail is an important project – not only for those incarcerated in the facility, but the employees and the community as a whole.
Wondolowski expects the Cleveland Building Trades will secure a Project Labor Agreement to construct the new facility and thinks it could create around 600 construction jobs.
However, any project timeline or related details cannot be established until the County Council deals with the next hurdle – how to pay for the construction of the jail.
The Plain Dealer reported that the council discussed extending the sales and use tax to fund the jail construction and referred the issue to committee for further evaluation. Doing so would extend 0.25 percent sales and use tax through 2067.
It is unclear whether Council would seek to extend the sales tax by a vote of the body or put it on the ballot for voters to decide, The Plain Dealer also reported. If approved, the sales tax extension would keep Cuyahoga County’s sales tax rate at 8 percent, which is the highest in the state.
The vote to secure the location of the much-needed correctional facility ended a years-long debate between keeping it in Cleveland or relocating it elsewhere in the county.
According to multiple media reports, opponents of the Garfield Heights location claimed the site was too far away from the County Justice Center and the facility would lower property values in Garfield Heights.
Garfield Heights Mayor Matt Burke supported the plan in part because it would bring jobs to the city.
Multiple other Garfield Heights government officials voiced support for the proposed county jail on a site that was previously considered for soccer fields, big box retail stores and a hotel; but those plans never came to fruition, the Cleveland Plain Dealer previously reported.