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Sheriff seeks $70 million SB 844 award to renovate County Jail No. 2; supervisors forward application amid public opposition
Summary
Sheriff Vicky Hennessy asked the committee to forward a resolution approving an application for up to $70 million under SB 844 to renovate County Jail No. 2 (425 Seventh Street). The proposal estimates an $82 million project budget, would not add beds but would add 8 ADA‑accessible cells, and drew sustained public comment opposing jail investment and urging decarceration.
The Budget & Finance Committee on Feb. 21 voted to forward to the full Board a resolution authorizing the Sheriff’s Department to apply to the state Board of State and Community Corrections for up to $70 million in SB 844 funding to renovate County Jail No. 2 at 425 Seventh Street.
Sheriff Vicky Hennessy said the facility — originally designed as a work‑furlough site and opened in 1994 — has been operated as a jail and requires extensive repair and modernization. Chief Deputy Matt Freeman and Department of Public Works staff presented the project scope and an estimated total project cost of about $82 million (approximately $45 million construction, $20 million contingencies, $16 million soft costs). The renovation would convert open‑bay dormitories in pods A and D to double‑occupancy rooms, install safety and sound mezzanine glazing, infill two open atriums to create roughly 1,500 square feet of program space, renovate a dormant kitchen in County Jail No. 2 to take pressure off Hall of Justice facilities, and upgrade HVAC, roofing and selected seismic, ADA and life‑safety systems. The presentation also listed potential enhancements that would be pursued only if budget permitted.
The Sheriff’s office said the project would not increase the jail’s baseline bed count (the facility rating remains 392), though it acknowledged that bringing parts of the facility into ADA compliance could create room for up to eight ADA‑accessible beds. On options for temporarily housing inmates during renovation, staff described two choices: (1) retrofit County Jail No. 3 (the sixth floor of the Hall of Justice) at an estimated $3 million to receive about 200 inmates for 18–24 months, or (2) rent beds in surrounding counties at an estimated cost of about $125 per inmate per day (roughly $13.5 million for 18 months), not including transportation costs.
Public comment drew sustained opposition. Speakers from the No New SF Jail Coalition, TGI Justice Project, Housing Rights Committee, the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club and others urged the supervisors to prioritize community‑based alternatives, questioned safety of temporary housing options at the Hall of Justice, and expressed concern that the proposal could perpetuate reliance on incarceration. Several commenters asked for more transparency about project details and for guarantees that the county’s overall jail capacity would not increase.
Budget and Legislative Analyst Severin recommended clarifying language that would require return to the Board for appropriation if a conditional intent to award is received, and to document that the city’s $12,000,000 match would be initially funded with interim commercial paper; committee adopted amendments to that effect. Supervisor Tang moved to adopt the amendments and forward the application to the full Board as a committee report; the motion passed unanimously as amended.
Next steps: the Sheriff’s Department may submit the SB 844 application to the state by Feb. 28; if the county receives conditional intent to award, the Board will consider appropriation and long‑term financing authorizations in subsequent proceedings.
