Subcommittee advances Hall of Justice jail replacement feasibility study, keeps bed count open

The Budget & Finance Subcommittee voted to forward a resolution declaring the proposed Hall of Justice jail replacement project fiscally feasible and to allow environmental review work to proceed, while directing that the Board consider the appropriate bed count and project size as part of the city's 10‑year capital plan.

Brian Strong (Capital Planning) introduced the project and said the Hall of Justice is seismically vulnerable and a replacement is part of the city’s capital plan. Project manager Jamoke Aiken Taylor described two potential sites (a parcel across from the Hall of Justice and the West Wing of the Hall of Justice), explained the shift from a linear to a podular design to enable direct supervision and program/medical space, and said a 640‑bed figure was being used as a planning upper bound to preserve flexibility in environmental reviews.

Taylor and other presenters estimated an initial capital cost of about $290,000,000 for a 640‑bed facility, financing via certificates of participation over roughly 23 years, and total debt service to the general fund on the order of $629.6 million with annual debt service around $27.3 million. The presentation included an estimated operating and maintenance cost (benchmarked to a comparable podular facility) of roughly $930,000 per year. The Budget Analyst reminded the committee of prior analysis showing a lower bed alternative (384 beds) that could save about $96 million and recommended amending the resolution to require the Board to consider final bed count/costs in the city’s 10‑year capital plan; the subcommittee adopted that amendment and forwarded the item.

The committee did not take public comment at the hearing; the resolution advances environmental review and preserves the Board’s opportunity to select a final bed count and funding plan after additional analysis.