Could a final location for Lucas County’s new jail be decided soon?
With every passing month, costs for the new facility rise with inflation.
TOLEDO, Ohio — It has been a topic of discussion for years. Lucas County needs a new jail, but the question remains: Where will it be located? But now, the county is as close as it’s ever been to answering that question.
The county has considered many different sites for the new jail, from a site on Detroit Avenue near Alexis Road to, most recently, the current site of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department. The tax increase that would have been used to move the Detroit Avenue proposal forward was shot down by voters back in 2018.
One hurdle that would remain if the county decided to choose the health department site as the jail’s new home is approval from the city of Toledo, which owns the site, and the health department board. Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz tells me that there are 49 votes that would need to take place from various entities, in order for the county to secure the health department site.
“I think that’s why the commissioners moved off that site, but I’m told that they have focused in on another site that has a lot of promise, and when they’re ready to move forward, we’re ready to move forward with them,” said Kapszukiewicz.
I was also able to confirm with the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office that another site the county is currently looking at for the new jail is the current home of the Lucas County facilitates department on Canton Street.
Kapszukiewicz adds that the county is a strong partner with the city, and that there are logistical challenges that’ll need to be worked out come time, like the transportation of inmates from the jail to the courtroom.
