February 23, 200916 yr One jail in county has room River City facility's rules block others' overflow http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090223/NEWS0107/902230347/1055/NEWS Jail space is so tight at the Hamilton County Justice Center that many inmates are released before they see the inside of a cell. Yet 4.25 miles away, a state-run treatment jail with room for 216 inmates regularly is about 17 percent empty. Click on link for article.
February 24, 200916 yr Could either Mercy Mt. Airy or Western Hills Hospitals ever be converted to a jail?
March 6, 200916 yr County adds new jail to stimulus request list http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=blog02&plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3aec38bb2b-982e-46ba-819a-da01a547e8eaPost%3aba0e860a-09ec-4f20-964b-c4f30508db21&s Tucked into the Ohio stimulus request (page 22) is a Hamilton County request for a new jail. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office is seeking $90 million to build a new jail. The facility would apparently be geared toward mentally ill inmates. "The facility would benefit the mental health community and the medical needs of incarcerated population of Hamilton County," the request states. Click on link for article.
March 7, 200916 yr New jail, rehiring deputies on stimulus list http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090307/NEWS0108/903070355/1055/NEWS A vague proposal to build a new jail in Hamilton County and one to rehire laid-off deputies have worked their way into the list of more than 13,000 projects in Ohio vying for federal stimulus money. Click on link for article.
May 27, 20169 yr I find it a little funny that Hamilton County moved the Board of Elections to Norwood because rent is cheaper and it's a "better location" for people who want to drive to vote early, yet the Hamilton County Jail is still located in the Central Business District, which is possibly the least productive use of that land imaginable.
May 27, 20169 yr What they should do, if they had unlimited money, is build a new jail somewhere and consolidate all their offices into a new tower where the jail is now. You could have a few temporary cells in the tower for those on trial at the courthouse (unnoticeable from the outside.) Then they could sell off all the surrounding buildings for conversion into residential. www.cincinnatiideas.com
May 27, 20169 yr They could do that now if they had the political will to do so. They own a number of historic buildings downtown that could be sold off to developers and converted into condos or apartments. (I would definately consider buying a condo in the Alms & Doepke building.) If Hamilton County actually sold these buildings at their market value, they could use those proceeds to either build a new office building downtown or rent space in existing downtown office buildings.
May 27, 20169 yr thebillshark[/member] - in terms of very blue sky thinking, was it you who threw out the idea a few years ago to build a replacement for US Bank Arena on the footprint of the current jail? That is still my favorite pipe dream to envision every time I'm walking by the jail.
May 27, 20169 yr No that wasn't me. Randy and the team at UrbanCincy proposed an arena to be connected to the casino, but that was on the other (east) side of it between Reading Rd and Gilbert Ave. I think. Interesting idea though www.cincinnatiideas.com
June 14, 20178 yr Hamilton County sheriff declares 'state of emergency' at jail due to overcrowding The Hamilton County Justice Center is outside acceptable practices and operating "far below" state jail minimum standards, Sheriff Jim Neil wrote in a letter to Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune Wednesday. Ohio's jail minimum standards set requirements for numerous aspects of jails, including the size and maximum occupancy of holding cells, housing cells, sleeping dorms and day areas. Neil has also been reaching out to neighboring counties to determine their ability to house inmates in an effort to alleviate overcrowding.
June 14, 20178 yr The Queensgate jail has been closed for at least five years. It's still there and its basketball courts are still protected by razor wire.
June 14, 20178 yr ^December 2008 "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
November 8, 20177 yr Hamilton County sheriff declares 'state of emergency' at jail due to overcrowding The Hamilton County Justice Center is outside acceptable practices and operating "far below" state jail minimum standards, Sheriff Jim Neil wrote in a letter to Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune Wednesday. Ohio's jail minimum standards set requirements for numerous aspects of jails, including the size and maximum occupancy of holding cells, housing cells, sleeping dorms and day areas. Neil has also been reaching out to neighboring counties to determine their ability to house inmates in an effort to alleviate overcrowding. I have heard absolutely nothing in the news about this since Neil made this statement. Is it still an issue? Are there proposed solutions?
November 8, 20177 yr ^ They will be housing the inmates in Paul Brown Stadium. it will be the new jail since the fans don't go there anymore.
June 8, 20187 yr So I’m not sure how much is a new jail will cost. I do know that the current jail is over crowded and when I toured the facility back in March the conditions were truly horrid. I know the city is running a budget deficit, (but somehow finds over 50 million for infrastructure dollars for fcc)...that said, why we don’t focus on building a new state of the art jail facility (that can handle the necessary growing capacity), move it away from the urban downtown core (architecturally it’s hideous and inmates arriving and departing is such a bad look for tourists and suburbanites touring downtown), and have 3CDC redevelop the land with a new mixed use development that would fit the current renaissance the urban core is experiencing... Again, the jail is not simply over crowded, it’s BEYOND over crowded. It’s a humanitarian nightmare. Why this isn’t getting 24/7 attention is beyond me.
June 8, 20187 yr move it away from the urban downtown core Doesn't the jail need to be near the courthouse?
June 8, 20187 yr move it away from the urban downtown core Doesn't the jail need to be near the courthouse? It does not have to be. Recall that the original plan was to shut down the Queensgate Facility and build a new larger jail at the Kahn's site in Camp Washington. Commissioners at the time put a sales tax on the ballot to fund the transition. That failed. https://www.citybeat.com/voices/editorial/article/13026020/new-jail-a-taxing-problem “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
June 8, 20187 yr Interesting. Well something needs to happen regardless. If anyone has toured the facility recently you will see how the jail facility is literally being pushed to the edge and then some. It’s not even the fact that it is overcrowded. There is mold everywhere and the facility is just simply abused and run down to the nub. I feel like this should be emergency money given from the state in lieu of this horrible humanitarian crisis.
June 8, 20187 yr They could build a larger, but Underground jail at the current site (with lots light wells around the perimeter) then put the parking and county administration offices above it in a high rise that better addresses the street and doesn't require those creepy windows all over that give the views to the people in lockup. if it has staggered rooflines there still could be a portion where there is a rooftop exercise yard like the current jail has where it is hidden from view. Something i only realized from seeing it on google maps. To get funding they could sell some of the other scattered offices in buildings like the old Post -Times Star for redevelopment at actual market value.
June 8, 20187 yr If they build it in camp washington somewhere they can repurpose the subway tubes as underground prisoner transport to eliminate all the vehicle shuttling to the courthouse and back that would occur. It would also give Hollywood an idea for CONAIR 2 - the underground.
June 8, 20187 yr I know the city is running a budget deficit, (but somehow finds over 50 million for infrastructure dollars for fcc) It is not the city's responsibility to build a new jail, it is the county's. Running the jail is literally one of the few functions that the city and county can't fight over; it is explicitly the county's job under state law to run the sheriff's office, courthouse, and jail.
June 8, 20187 yr move it away from the urban downtown core Doesn't the jail need to be near the courthouse? It does not have to be. Recall that the original plan was to shut down the Queensgate Facility and build a new larger jail at the Kahn's site in Camp Washington. Commissioners at the time put a sales tax on the ballot to fund the transition. That failed. https://www.citybeat.com/voices/editorial/article/13026020/new-jail-a-taxing-problem Putting the jail tax on the ballot was such a goofy idea. People aren't going to vote to tax themselves to pay for a new jail. Hamilton County really needs to think about coming up with a new master plan for its facilities and getting a new jail as part of that process. Why not build a new jail in some part of the county where land is dirt cheap, demolish the current jail and redevelop that site? They could either auction off the current site to developers and make an immediate profit, or perhaps partner with the Port Authority to develop the site for some guaranteed longer-term revenue stream into county coffers. However my dream would be for the county to do a much larger swap where the jail leaves downtown, and a new county office building is constructed on the current jail site. The county functions that are currently housed in the Alms & Doepke and Times-Star buildings would be consolidated into this new office building, and the A&D and Times-Star buildings would be sold to developers to be converted into apartments or condos.
June 8, 20187 yr move it away from the urban downtown core Doesn't the jail need to be near the courthouse? It does not have to be. Recall that the original plan was to shut down the Queensgate Facility and build a new larger jail at the Kahn's site in Camp Washington. Commissioners at the time put a sales tax on the ballot to fund the transition. That failed. https://www.citybeat.com/voices/editorial/article/13026020/new-jail-a-taxing-problem Putting the jail tax on the ballot was such a goofy idea. People aren't going to vote to tax themselves to pay for a new jail. Hamilton County really needs to think about coming up with a new master plan for its facilities and getting a new jail as part of that process. Why not build a new jail in some part of the county where land is dirt cheap, demolish the current jail and redevelop that site? They could either auction off the current site to developers and make an immediate profit, or perhaps partner with the Port Authority to develop the site for some guaranteed longer-term revenue stream into county coffers. However my dream would be for the county to do a much larger swap where the jail leaves downtown, and a new county office building is constructed on the current jail site. The county functions that are currently housed in the Alms & Doepke and Times-Star buildings would be consolidated into this new office building, and the A&D and Times-Star buildings would be sold to developers to be converted into apartments or condos. If they aren't already working towards this....it's a huge failure of leadership, and a borderline misuse of taxpayer funds. Their current property holdings should seemingly net them enough to construct a new jail and offices HQ. I fear this should have already been happening though, as I doubt this market is gonna hold out much longer.
June 8, 20187 yr I wrote this ( https://cincinnatiideas.com/2017/06/13/rethinking-eastern-downtown/ ) a year ago but have adjusted my vision somewhat with the library north building seemingly in play. Build a new jail outside downtown. Tear down the jail and have a sheriff station with just enough cells that are immediately needed for the courthouse where the north jail tower is. Sell off the lot and land where the south tower is for development. Consolidate Hamilton County offices into a new building at ninth and Walnut where the library parking lot is. Renovate the upper floors of the library north building to use for county offices as well which would be connected to the new county office building. The lower floors of the library north building open to the public can remain as-is. www.cincinnatiideas.com
June 8, 20187 yr Putting the jail tax on the ballot was such a goofy idea. People aren't going to vote to tax themselves to pay for a new jail. Hamilton County really needs to think about coming up with a new master plan for its facilities and getting a new jail as part of that process. Why not build a new jail in some part of the county where land is dirt cheap, demolish the current jail and redevelop that site? They could either auction off the current site to developers and make an immediate profit, or perhaps partner with the Port Authority to develop the site for some guaranteed longer-term revenue stream into county coffers. However my dream would be for the county to do a much larger swap where the jail leaves downtown, and a new county office building is constructed on the current jail site. The county functions that are currently housed in the Alms & Doepke and Times-Star buildings would be consolidated into this new office building, and the A&D and Times-Star buildings would be sold to developers to be converted into apartments or condos. If they aren't already working towards this....it's a huge failure of leadership, and a borderline misuse of taxpayer funds. Their current property holdings should seemingly net them enough to construct a new jail and offices HQ. I fear this should have already been happening though, as I doubt this market is gonna hold out much longer. I believe the previous makeup of County Commission "studied" this idea and decided to not move forward with it.
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