Fulton Commission unanimously approves $1.3B jail financing plan
The Fulton County Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a $1.3 billion financing plan to renovate the current Rice Street jail and build a new facility for inmates with special needs. While expensive, the plan is considered necessary to address dangerous and deplorable conditions at the jail that lead to a legal agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to improve conditions deemed “unconstitutional.”
The lofty proposal centers around a new 1,800-bed “special purpose facility” to house inmates who require behavioral and medical care, with that facility having a price tag of $734 million — a cost that’s risen by about $98 million since earlier estimates.
County officials said Wednesday the building will be completed and ready for use by 2031, with renovation of the existing Rice Street facility on track to be finished by 2035.
All six County Commission members approved the plan, saying that it is a crucial step to finally move forward with a solution to Fulton’s jail problems. A seventh commissioner, Mo Ivory, resigned from her seat to run for commission chair this year.
“We need to do something to make sure that we are housing people safely and humanely,” Commissioner Marvin S. Arrington, Jr. said. “And I think the special use facility makes sense, especially with 70% of the jail population having some sort of mental health issue.”
But the timeline does nothing to immediately address the existing issues, and a lease agreement with the city of Atlanta to use beds in its detention center is scheduled to end in December.
County Manager Dick Anderson said Wednesday that if the lease with the city ends, Fulton is weighing whether to build a temporary facility that could hold up to 450 inmates, or transfer them to other metro Atlanta county jails, or contract with private facilities.
“The preferable option is Atlanta (or) another local county,” Anderson said. “I don’t think the build option really fits the need, and I understand the concerns with a private operator.”
A spokesperson for the county confirmed that officials met with Louisiana-based LaSalle Corrections last week, which operates the Irwin County Detention Center, a controversial facility that also holds individuals detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-Rahman defended the county’s discussions with private prisons, saying that the county has limited options to address overcrowding in the short-term.
But a judge already struck down a county plan to send inmates to far-away jails. In 2023, a Fulton County superior court judge ruled that Georgia law prohibited Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat from sending hundreds of inmates to private prisons out-of-state.
Fulton County is currently under a federal consent decree with the DOJ mandating the county and its sheriff improve jail conditions that federal officials described as “abhorrent.”
An evaluation of the county’s compliance with that agreement released last month reported that a cap on the jail population may be necessary to improve dangerous conditions.
Despite approving the $1.3 billion financing plan on Wednesday, commission members voiced concern about the cost and decision to renovate Rice Street as opposed to building a new structure in its place.
Renovation of the old facility and expanding its utility plant will costs $489 million. Commissioner Dana Barrett argued that renovation costs are higher per bed than constructing a new facility that would hold more inmates.
“The bottom line is, it is significantly more expensive to renovate than to build these beds in a new facility,” she said, adding that a new building would also have a significantly longer life span. “We’ll have opportunities to make different decisions, but I think the public needs to understand that the plan as written here today is not fiscally sound.”
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office praised the commission’s vote as a “step in the right direction” but agreed with the drawbacks.
“Our position remains unchanged: renovating 901 Rice Street is not the optimal solution,” said Natalie Ammons, director of communications for the sheriff’s office. “A full replacement is necessary to truly meet the demands of modern inmate resident care.
About the Author
Riley Bunch is a reporter on the local government team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering Atlanta City Hall. She covers the mayor and Atlanta City Council while also keeping an eye on the city’s diverse neighborhoods.
