Long-awaited Wayne County Jail project breaks ground

Back in the 1970s, Wayne County Sheriff Travis Hutchinson was just 20 and starting his law-enforcement career at the Wayne County Jail.

Now Hutchinson said he’ll end his career just as construction gets underway on a new facility and a renovation of the nearly 50-year-old facility.

“It’s overwhelming for me to retire this year,” he said, “and not see it through.”

The project, expected to take nearly three years and cost nearly $60 million, had its ceremonial groundbreaking on Tuesday, April 30 in what is currently the Wayne County Justice Center parking lot on North Walnut Street.

“It’s been a morning that’s been a long time coming,” county commissioner Ron Amstutz said, noting jail expansion has been on the commissioners’ to-do list for eight years, predating any of the current three commissioners.

But former commissioner Ann Obrecht was on hand to see the project — designed by Strollo Architects and to be built by Bogner Corp. — get underway.

The project, Amstutz said, will be done in two phases, with the new construction first. Once that is complete, inmates and services will move there while the existing jail is renovated. He said, "(The current jail) is an increasing barrier to delivering the justice we need to deliver.”

Once the project is finished, there will be 200 beds, 54 of which will be for specialty cases: inmates with mental health or medical issues and those who require segregation from the general population.

Funding is coming from a variety of sources including federal and local funds and a $15 million state grant. The money was part of $50 million in funds the Ohio General Assembly set aside for county jail projects in 11 counties.

“Traditionally, the General Assembly has not wanted to support local jail projects,” said Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who was on hand for the ceremony.

But he said lawmakers are becoming increasingly aware of aging jails in the state and the need to provide mental health and re-entry services inside corrections facilities.

Husted praised Wayne County for its collaborative effort to get the project off the drawing board. It had been a priority set by the Community Corrections Planning Board, made up of a cross section of jail stakeholders.

“Congratulations on your planning process,” he said, “and now you’re about to get this project started.”

This story was provided by the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Wayne and Holmes Counties.