CLEVELAND — Plans for a proposed new Cuyahoga County Jail may now be headed back to square one.
On Tuesday, the 12-member Justice Center Executive Steering Committee voted down a proposal to purchase 44 acres of land at 2700 Transport Road in Cleveland to house the new correctional facility.
At issue is the question of the environmental safety at the three parcels of land, which is now the site of a container storage facility, but once housed a Standard Oil refinery.
Five committee members, including Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and Cuyahoga County Council President Pernel Jones, voted in favor of the proposal. Six members, including Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley and Common Pleas Judge Brendan Sheehan, voted against it. There was one abstention.
“I’m disappointed with the outcome of today’s steering committee vote," Jones said in a statement. "Despite all the time, energy, and money that has been invested over the past four years in this open process, several members of the steering committee chose to reject the most feasible path to building a safer, more humane jail. I will continue to work with the county executive and my colleagues on council to identify the best path forward.”
The proposal submitted in July by Budish called for the county to take control of the 40-acre Cuyahoga Valley Industrial Center site in Slavic Village that used to be the home of a steel mill, then offer that area for the container storage facility company to purchase for $6.4 million. Cuyahoga County would then buy the land on Transport Road for $20 million.
The site in Slavic Village was considered as a potential site of the next Cuyahoga County Jail, but political and community leaders in Cleveland pushed back because of its proximity to residential areas as well as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio on Broadway.
The existing quarter percent sales tax, which was implemented in 2007 and set to expire in 2027, would also be extended under the proposed legislation, which could still be voted on by Cuyahoga County Council at a later time.
Last year, Budish said the new Cuyahoga County Corrections Center would house approximately 1,900 inmates and was expected to be ready in 2025. The cost of the jail at the time was estimated at $550 million, but is now slated to be around $700 million.
You can watch Tuesday's Justice Center Executive Steering Committee meeting in the player below:
Previous Reporting:
- Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish to introduce legislation for land purchase, sales tax extension for new jail
- Cuyahoga County Jail earns top national jail accreditation
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio condemns 'misguided and secretive attempt' to build new Cuyahoga County Jail in Slavic Village area
