JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The city of Jacksonville has confirmed it received an unsolicited proposal from three groups offering to help build a new Duval County jail. This development marks a potential first step in what is expected to be a significant and lengthy project for the city.
While the project is still in its early stages, the mayor’s office is in discussions with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) to determine the best path forward. The cost of constructing a new jail is estimated to be around $1 billion, highlighting the project’s magnitude.
Mayor Donna Deegan’s office confirms the unsolicited proposal comes from three companies: Sustainability Partners, AJAX Building Company, and HOK. Notably, HOK is the architecture and engineering firm behind the design for the Jaguars’ stadium of the future. According to its website, Sustainability Partners specializes in partnering with state and local governments to find alternative funding methods for infrastructure projects.
Councilman Ron Salem, a longtime advocate for a new jail, expressed enthusiasm about the interest from these companies.
“I think it’s neat that there are people out there that are interested in coming in and building us a jail. That’s the exciting part of this,” Salem said.
He emphasized the importance of receiving multiple bids to ensure the best possible deal for the city.
“We just need to make sure we do it right,” Salem said. “This will be the largest project in the history of Jacksonville, somewhere around a billion dollars. And we need to make sure we do it right.”
City leaders have outlined key goals for the new jail, including on-site healthcare and mental health services. In the past, leaders have said they aim to create a facility that can serve the community for the next 50 years. Mayor Donna Deegan supports a new jail and emphasized how badly it is needed.
“[The jail], frankly, has all sorts of structural issues; it is not healthy in a lot of ways inside that jail,” Deegan said. “We want to make sure we provide what the community needs, in addition to making sure that we have mental health resources on-site. I know the sheriff is just as focused on this as we are. So, we are working with him to make sure we get exactly the facility we want.”
The jail has come under more scrutiny following the death of inmate Charles Faggart in April. Residents like Sarah Sanders support the idea of a new jail but emphasize the importance of focusing on rehabilitation and support for inmates.
“I think it needs to be more about the people and not just the building itself,” Sanders stated.
Over the years, some city leaders have also discussed a desire to see the jail moved out of downtown by the riverfront. Fatina Hathcock supports that idea.
“We can do something else on the river and put something else beautiful on the river,” Hathcock said. “Since we’re building our downtown anyway.”
As the city of Jacksonville explores this unsolicited proposal, many details remain to be clarified. News4JAX has requested access to the proposal and will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
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