Union County hears updated jail study showing lower-day capacity but large cost and timeline

Union County commissioners heard an update May 19 on a long‑running jail study that presented two replacement options — a 400‑bed facility with a 600‑bed core and a 500‑bed facility with the same core — along with preliminary construction, staffing and operational cost estimates.

The county’s facilities director, Chris Boyd, and consultants from Justice Planners and Little Architecture presented a programmatic square‑footage study and high‑level cost models. Consultant Alan Richardson said the 400‑bed option would be about 180,000 square feet and the 500‑bed option about 211,000 square feet; Thomas Carlson Redick of Little estimated construction costs for the 400‑bed option near $115 million (with soft costs and escalation included) and a higher total for the 500‑bed option.

The study included operational projections that assume a fully occupied facility. Richardson and Little presented staffing plans and an estimated “relief factor” to cover vacations, sick leave and other…