Ribbon Cut at New Greene County, Ohio Justice Center
Greene County Sheriff Scott Anger, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and other county officials cut the ribbon at the new Greene County Gene Fisher Justice Center on Nov. 19. | Photo Credit: (all) Governor Mike DeWine, Facebook
By Charlie Lange
XENIA, Ohio — On Nov. 19, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Greene County officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the recently completed Greene County Gene Fischer Justice Center just outside the city of Xenia.
The new 100,000-square-foot campus will now house the county sheriff’s administration — which was previously headquartered in a former 1929 car dealership building — as well as the coroner’s office, patrol and investigative units, concealed carry weapon licensing, background check office, and a 287-bed jail.
The new jail will ease overcrowding issues at the county’s current jail, which opened in 1969 and has been operating under a federal consent decree since 1989. It was also bring the county’s total jail capacity to 508 beds.
“With this expansion, our corrections officers can work in cleaner, safer conditions, and when our courts impose sentences, individuals will now be required to serve their full sentences,” said County Commissioner Dick Gould.
Like many modern-built correctional facilities, the new jail will have space for mental health programming, as well as medical and dental facilities.
“In the day and age that we live in and anybody in law enforcement can tell us…that the people that go into the jail many times have mental health problems, behavioral health problems, many times they have drug addiction problems, many times they have both of those problems. And this is going to make it much, much easier for the services…to be delivered,” said Gov. DeWine at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Construction on the new facility designed Wachtel & McAnally Architects began in August 2023, headed by Danis Construction and Granger Construction. Of the $75 million project budget, $15 million was funded through Ohio’s Jail Safety and Security Grant Program, while the rest came from sales tax bonds, the county’s general fund and American Rescue Plan Act funds.
While the sheriff and coroner were able to move into their new offices in the justice center this August, final completion of the facility allows the county to start moving inmates from the old jail into the new complex by mid-December.
Other special features of the new sheriff’s facility include separate interview rooms for victims and other individuals, a community room for training sessions and other events, new in-house drug-testing equipment, and a lobby for the CCW office.
For furniture in the sheriff’s office, Yutzy Woodworking, an Ohio Amish furniture maker, provided durable all-wood desks and tables that the county says cost 40% less than other commercial offices and were built and delivered to the site within a week.
The new complex is named after former Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer, who held the position from June 2003 until his unexpected passing on In November of 2021.
Once inmates have been transferred to the new facility, the county will complete renovations at its adjacent Adult Detention Center. The county also received a state grant to demolish its old jail and sheriff’s office by next June.
“I still stand before you confidently, that this facility will serve the citizens of Greene County for the next 50 years and into perpetuity,” said Greene County Sheriff Scott Anger.